CL Central's free throws nip Dundee-Crown
Despite an off shooting night, Dundee-Crown was able to battle with Crystal Lake Central right up until the final buzzer.
The Chargers, however, fell to the host Tigers in the same fashion in which they had been beating them - at the free-throw line.
Crystal Lake Central forward Erin Frazier made 4 straight free-throws to give the Tigers (5-3) a 33-30 lead and eventually a 34-32 victory in a Fox Valley Conference crossover girls basketball matchup in Crystal Lake Monday.
"We just had trouble scoring in the fourth quarter," Chargers' coach Michelle Russell said. "We just fouled them at the wrong time."
Chargers' guard Ali Sanders, who had brought the Chargers within 33-32 with 29 seconds left, had a chance for the tie at the end of the game, but was unable to get a clean look and missed a shot inside the paint as time expired.
Dundee-Crown (2-6) had been able to keep a lead for the majority of the second half until Frazier's free throws with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter. The Chargers did this shooting 21.6 percent (8 of 37) from the floor and scored just 3 points in the final quarter.
The bright spot of the Chargers' offensive effort came when senior guard Megan Fasanella scored 8 of her 11 points in the third quarter. She drained her third 3-pointer of the night to put the Chargers up 29-23 with 1:02 left in the third quarter, giving Dundee-Crown its biggest lead night.
"Megan got on fire," Russell said. "When she's hitting, we try to get the ball in her hands. She definitely sparked our offense."
While the Chargers' plan was to get the ball to Fasanella, Central made sure she didn't get an open look in the fourth quarter. Fasanella (11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) went 4 of 11 from the floor in the first 3 quarters, but did not attempt a shot in the final period.
"It was just good defense," Fasanella said. "They had (Mary Grace Thomas) and (Nelle Youek) face guarding me. They didn't want me to shoot the ball."
The Chargers trailed just 19-18 at halftime after going 0 for 9 from the floor in the second quarter. The Chargers did drive the lane and draw the Tigers into foul trouble. Sanders (12 points, 5 rebounds) went 5 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second quarter, accounting for all but 1 of Dundee-Crown's points. The sophomore forward made all 5 of her free-throws after Central had built a 19-13 lead.
Central opened the game with a 4-0 lead, scoring off 2 D-C turnovers. After 8 total turnovers in the first quarter, the Chargers committed just 9 in the rest of the game, while forcing 14.
Frazier led all players with 17 points.