Lake Park remembers Elk Grove

Lake Park senior Alexis Hahn didn't forget playing against Elk Grove one year ago.

"It was our first game," she said. "We didn't play well at all. Bad start."

Hahn's good start in Saturday's game helped the Lancers avenge that 20l0 loss to the Grenadiers.

The 6-foot guard-forward scored 10 of her game-high 27 points in the first seven minutes as Lake Park jumped to a 10-point lead.

Elk Grove clawed its way back and actually led by 3 points midway through the third quarter before Lake Park re-rallied for a 53-46 triumph in the Hoffman Estates-Lake Park-Elk Grove Invite.

Hahn was instrumental in the ending, too.

Her baseline drive for a 3-point play gave the Lancers the lead for good at 38-35.

Lake Park (2-1) got up by as much as 10 points before Elk Grove cut it to 50-44 on Diamond Boyd's running 12-foot bank shot from the right side of the free-throw lane with 1:21 left.

The Grens (1-1) then forced a 5-second violation to get possession right back. However, Hahn stepped up again.

She made a steal in the Grens' backcourt and took the ball in for a layup and 52-44 lead with 45 second left.

"Alexis did a really great job," said first-year Lancers coach Andrea Miller. "All three of our games (21 points in each of the first two games) she has been setting the tone. She's just relentless and the team follows that."

Elk Grove followed the lead of Boyd after halftime. After sitting out all but four minutes in the first half with foul trouble, Boyd exploded for 17 of her 19 points in the third quarter.

Her 3-point basket tied the game at 35-35 and her layup with 1:22 left in the third brought the Grens to within 38-37.

Shortly after, though, Boyd picked up her fourth foul and the 5-10 junior didn't return until 5:46 of the final period.

"I don't know if I've seen that many points (17) by a girl in one quarter," said Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky, whose team was without the services of junior point guard Kelly Naughton (concussion). "Obviously, she has confidence in her ability and she was frustrated and angry that she was not on the floor in the first half."

Sophomore Melissa Solorio (14 points) was on the floor the entire game and came up with a superb effort in filling in for Naughton.

"Being able to stay in the game was more Melissa Solorio than anything," said Kirkorsky, who hopes to have Naughton back for next Saturday's game against Hoffman Estates. "She did everything for us. She showed more guts than anyone for us."

"Lake Park is a good team," said Solorio, who usually plays a forward spot. "They're tough but we had our chances. You win some and you lose some.

"It hurt without Diamond in the first half. She is a key player for us. And it hurt not having Kelly because she is our main point guard."

Liz Bowman chipped in 9 points for the Grens while Taylor Brown and Kari Czeszewski each had 2 apiece.

"We talked about this being a positive because we had kids in positions where they may need to play later in the season," Kirkorsky added. "So hopefully they'll see it that way."

The Lancers also saw a lot of key offense from 6-1 junior forward Alyssa Hernandez, who chipped in 13 points.

Fremd 86, Lakes 44: Since he took over the Fremd program six years ago, girls basketball coach Dave Yates hadn't seen his team reach double figures in 3-pointers.

Until Saturday night at Lakes High School.

The Vikings popped in 11 3-pointers in an 86-44 triumph over the Eagles.

It was Fremd's third straight win in the Fremd-Lake Zurich Thanksgiving Turkey Thriller Tournament.

Valparaiso-bound Jessi Wiedemann led the long-range shootout by connecting for four 3-pointers, followed by freshman Haley Gorecki (3), junior Ashley McConnell (2) and junior Megan Daniello (2), who came off the bench.

"We shot the heck out of the ball," said Yates, who was able to play his bench the entire fourth quarter.

Hononegah 51, Palatine 36: Nia Pappas led the Pirates (3-1, 2-1 in tourney) with 15 points while Katelyn Mayer added 9 and McKenzie Wiedemann 7 at the Dundee-Crown tourney.

Nicole Smith, a 6-foot-4 senior center, led Hononegah with 25 points.

"We played real hard on defense," said Pirates coach Leslie Schock. "And we ran up against a great center (Smith) who had a great game for them."

Neuqua Valley 54, Prospect 44: Senior Maura Benson and junior Michele Molini (2 3-pointers) led the Knights (1-1) with 14 points apiece at the York tournament.

"I was very proud for the girls," said Knights coach Martha Kelly. "They played very hard against a very aggressive team (ranked No. 10 in Daily Herald poll). We told the girls, win or lose, we came here to play good competition. We stepped it up a notch and showed that we can pretty much play with anyone."

Conant 50, St Charles North 24: The Cougars notched their first win in the York tourney and improved to 1-2 for the season.

Glenbrook South 53, Schaumburg 37; Going up against 3-0 Glenbrook South, the Saxons (1-2) were led by senior Alyssa Saklak (14 points) and junior Amanda Kelly (8) in a third-round game of the Schaumburg tournament.

Libertyville 39, Buffalo Grove 33: Junior Bailey North scored a game-high 17 points for the Bison, who are 1-1 in their own tournament.

Barrington 52, Westinghouse 40: Seniors Nicole Collins (15 points, 4 steals, 2 assists) and K.D. Madden (10 points, 12 rebounds) led Barrington (2-1, 1-1) in the Buffalo Grove Invite.

Junior Alexa Resch added 9 rebounds for the Fillies, who led 25-19 at intermission.

Barrington was 23-of-25 at the free throw line, led by Natasha Singh, who was 4-of-4.

"Natasha and K.D. played very nice games," said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro. "K.D. had some big steals in the fourth quarter in the post and Alexa Resch had some big rebounds. Nicole (Collins) really pushed the ball and had to handle a lot of pressure on top. And our sophomores (Angie Kirchoff and Brooke Gunderson) played well."

Streamwood 47, St. Viator 43: Lauren Rooney led the Lions (1-2) with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and an assist in the Dundee-Crown tourney game.

"Lauren had another great all-around game," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness. "Morgan Hess (11 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists) did an outstanding defensive game today. I thought that she played with a lot of intensity and determination."

"We lost a heartbreaker," Bjerkness added. "It was a very exciting game with plenty of great defensive possessions. But basketball is a game of runs and we just run out of time."

Harlan 55, Hoffman Estates 42: The Hawks (1-2 in the Lake Park-Hoffman Estates-Elk Grove Invite) were led by Becca Stoczynski (14 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) and Destinee Young (12 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists) and Sara Burns (10 points).

Christian Liberty 56, Alden Hebron 49: Christian Liberty took third place in the Elgin Academy tournament as Vivian Barclay was named to all-tourney team for her outstanding defense in all three games.

Jayna Rowland led the Chargers with 13 points, followed by Shelbi Hernandez (12), Carly Baric (9), Megan Sullivan (7) and Jess Moriarty (7).

Sullivan and Moriarty each hit 3-pointers.