St. James girls team win two tournaments
The St. James fifth-grade girls basketball team had a busy Martin Luther King weekend, playing two tournaments and a conference game and emerging with two championships and seven total wins.
At the Mary Seat of Wisdom tourney in Park Ridge, the Bulldogs took the opener against St. John Brebeuf of Niles, with strong inside play, as Erin McGrath, Amy Morgan, Katie Lindgren and Stefanie Flynn accounted for all 19 points in the victory.
On Saturday at MSW, the Bulldogs faced the host MSW Hawks, who battled well for most of the game, but the Bulldogs prevailed 23-15 in their closest game of this tournament. This time, the guards contributed offense, as Margherite Pettenuzzo, Megan Lifka and Camille Branick all scored important baskets.
On Sunday, in the semifinals, St. James faced conference foe St. Raymond's. The Bulldogs defense dug in on this one, as Sarah McGrath and Katie McGrath helped slow down the Saints.
Finally, in the championship game, St. James emerged as tourney champs by defeating St. Eugene 28-18 in a game that was close until the final minutes. Leading scorers were Erin McGrath, Amy Morgan and Camille Branick.
Not content with just one tournament on a cold January weekend, the Bulldogs traveled to Wheaton for the St. Michael tourney. In the opener, after a first round bye, they faced St. John from Plainfield and the Bulldogs man-to-man defense held St. John's down in a 25-8 victory. The team defense was strong from start to finish, with key contributions from Ellie Fahey, Sarah McGrath and Reggie DeFilippo.
The St. Michael tourney final featured the Bulldogs against a travel team from Homer Glen. But the Bulldogs did not back down and the fast break offense, led by Margherite Pettenuzzo and Erin McGrath and fueled by the rebounding of Amy Morgan, sent them out to an early lead that was never challenged.
In the championship game, Reggie DeFilippo chipped in four points down the stretch. The Bulldogs took home more championship hardware!
In the midst of their travels over the weekend, the St. James girls stopped off for a conference game against St. Mary's. Ellie Fahey and Kelly Colmone set the tone early in this game, with defensive steals on St. Mary's first two possessions. Amy Morgan led the scoring and rebounding and Lucia Faraci, Stefanie Flynn, Katie McGrath and Katie Lindgren each contributed 4 points in a balanced team effort.