Dundee-Crown bounces back

Dundee-Crown wasn't about to let one poor quarter spoil its chance for a win in its own holiday tournament.

Outscoring Johnsburg 41-24 during the final three quarters, D-C erased a slow start in knocking off the Skyhawks 53-44 in consolation bracket action of the 29th Annual Charger Classic Wednesday morning in Carpentersville.

"We upped the intensity and effort on the defensive end the last three quarters, said Chargers' coach Michelle Russell. "We changed some things up and the girls responded. We showed a lot of mental toughness."

D-C plays St Charles North at 11 a.m. Thursday in the final round of the tournament. The North Stars defeated Regina Domincan 36-25 Wednesday.

Johnsburg (3-10) was certainly the aggressor during the first 8 minutes of Wednesday's game. Connecting on 7-of-11 (63 percent) from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-poinr range, the Skyhawks opened up a 20-12 lead after one quarter of play.

The Chargers' aggressive defense stymied Johnsburg during the last three quarters. The Skyhawks were 8-of-40 (20 percent) from the floor and 1-of-10 from 3-point range in the final 24 minutes. Johnsburg ended the game, making 15-of-51 shots for 30 percent and 4-of-15 from beyond the arc for 24 percent.

The D-C defense forced 20 turnovers, 17 in the final three quarters.

Down by 8 after one quarter, the Chargers (8-6) outscored Johnsburg 14-7 in the second quarter and were only down 27-26 at intermission. Florida Southern recruit Ali Sanders poured in 10 first-half points while Carlin Faulkner tallied 6.

The Chargers seized control of the game in the third quarter by outscoring the Skyhawks 13-2 during the first 5:50 of the second half. It was the duo of Sanders and Faulkner who did the damage for the Chargers. The each scored 5 points as D-C turned a 1-point halftime deficit into a 10-point 39-29 advantage with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

Johnsburg got to within 6 of Dundee-Crown, 48-42, after 2 free throws from Kallie DiTusa with 2:46 left, but couldn't get any closer.

Sanders enjoyed a stellar overall effort for the Chargers with 20 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

"We were really tired mentally," said Sanders. "We were drained playing three tough games in three days but we came together as a team and everybody contributed positively for us. "

Faulkner contributed 13 points for the winners. DiTusa and Ashley Schuld scored 11 apiece for Johnsburg.