Westminster topples Harvest Christian
Westminster Christian girls basketball coach Ken Flickinger can empathize with the growing pains Harvest Christian and coach Kelly Friestad will go through this season.
“We’ve been where they’re at,” Flickinger says.
Friday night, the Warriors hosted Harvest Christian in the first IHSA varsity girls basketball game between Elgin’s two Class 1A schools, and Westminster’s longevity as an IHSA program was evident, despited the visiting Lions riding a 7-game winning streak coming into the contest.
Sophomore Claire Spiewek scored 17 points and sophomore McKaila Hays added 14 as the Warriors pulled away in the second half and defeated Harvest Christian 45-32 in nonconference action between the budding rivals, who will each play in the Northeast Athletic Conference next year.
“We’ve had a couple really good games,” said Flickinger, whose team won its fifth straight. “We didn’t shoot real well in the first quarter tonight so we just had to relax and play good defense.”
Trailing 8-7 after one quarter the Warriors (9-3) went on a 13-2 blitz in the second quarter to take a 20-10 lead at halftime. Spiewek scored 11 straight points for Westminster, which led by as many as 20 late in the game.
“We ran a lot and that’s what we were trying to do,” said Spiewek, who also had 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. “It was nice to work as a team and get the job done. It feels good.”
Hays scored 12 of her points in the second half, including hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Warriors a 38-21 lead with 5:37 left in the game. Westminster shot a respectable 18 of 43 for the game and made six 3-pointers.
“I was real happy with the start of the third quarter,” said Flickinger. “We were able to extend the lead and get some breathing room. We hit a couple 3s, got some offensive rebounds and made some putbacks. Those things will be important later in the season.”
Six-foot-2 sophomore Sydney Doby led the Lions (7-2) with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Harvest struggled shooting, making just 12 of 43 on the night. But after committing 15 turnovers in the first half, the Lions only had four miscues in the second half. The Lions also never gave up, closing out the game on a 10-3 run.
“This was a good game for us,” said Friestad, whose team is made up of all freshmen and sophomores. “It was good to play (Westminster). They’re one of the best teams we’ve played so far and this gives us some experience in this atmosphere. We had a good comeback at the end and that showed a lot of character and perseverance.”