With Hughes hitting, Warren handles Deerfield

It sure didn't seem like Jordyn Hughes had been suffering from any shooting woes on Monday afternoon.

But the Warren guard says that she had been shooting poorly prior to her team's second-round Blue Devil Classic game against Deerfield in Gurnee.

"My shot had been off lately, it wasn't flowing," said Hughes, a sophomore. "I just get flat, I don't use my legs enough or I need to get my arm higher. Lift.

"So I got into the gym this morning to shoot around. And (on Sunday) I was working with my shooting coach to perfect each shot. It helps me to get some shots up."

Hughes was fully warmed up by the time she took the floor against Deerfield. And she was quick out of the gate. She scored 21 of her game-high 24 points in the first half to carry Warren to a 63-54 victory over Deerfield.

"Sometimes when I feel it like that, I don't think as much about my shot and that's good, too," Hughes said. "My arm just goes up and I get that lift."

Hughes drained four 3-pointers, three of which came in the first half. She also was able to get to the basket at will.

"She's obviously an amazing player," Deerfield guard Margot Sylvan said of Hughes. "We knew we needed to stick her but she was making amazing shots, amazing passes. Her game was really on and we just didn't know how to stop her."

Deerfield jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game on the strength of 3-point shooting by Sylvan (team-high 12 points) and Jesse Holloway (8 points).

But Warren (6-7) stormed back to tie the game at 15-15 by the end of the first quarter. Both Hughes and sophomore forward Kaylen Dickson (14 points) each had 3 baskets to lead the charge.

The Blue Devils took control of the game in the second quarter, out-scoring Deerfield 28-12. Hughes had 14 points in the quarter.

"I'm really proud of our effort," Warren coach John Stanczkiewicz said. "We didn't get off to the best start. But we found ourselves. We were able to get our composure. Every game, this team shows me a little bit more, that we're getting a little bit more mature and comfortable with who we are. We're becoming a more confident basketball team and it's exciting to see."

Down by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter, Deerfield was able to cut down the final margin by outscoring Warren 13-5 over the final minutes.

"We talk a lot about how to put it all together for the whole game, and pace of play, to," Deerfield coach Mike Muldrow said. "We have such good shooters, but sometimes we shoot it too fast and that's not always the best shot. Our kids are learning from that, it's just a little up and down right now."