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Dundee-Crown charges back to beat McHenry

It's scary how good the Dundee-Crown girls basketball team could be when the Chargers put together four solid quarters of play.

Trailing McHenry 16-7 after 1 quarter, the host Chargers blitzed the Warriors 40-17 during the final 3 quarters in recording a 47-33 win in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in Carpentersville Saturday afternoon.

"We didn't match McHenry's intensity in the first quarter and came out flat" said Dundee-Crown coach Sarah Miller. "To McHenry's credit they had us on our toes at both ends of the floor. We were playing as individuals and not as one group. We increased the defensive intensity and played well after the first quarter."

Down by 9 after one quarter, the Chargers (12-13, 3-3) began taking control of the game in the second quarter.

Propelled by 8 points from Paige Gieseke and a 3-pointer from Melissa Barker the Chargers began the second quarter on an 11-1 run. Dundee-Crown took its first lead of the game 18-17 with 2:11 left in the first half on a 3-pointer from Barker.

Leading 23-20 at halftime, the Chargers, spearheaded by a trey from Kennedy White, started the third quarter on a 7-0 run and led by 10, 30-20, with 5:11 left in the quarter.

McHenry responded with a 5-0 run and got to within 5 of the Chargers, 30-25, on a putback by Elizabeth Alsot with 2:33 remaining.

The Warriors couldn't get any closer.

The Chargers' biggest lead of the game was 45-29 after a driving layup in the lane by Lucy Atherton with 1:46 left in the game.

Gieseke filled the stat sheet for the Chargers with 13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots.

"I just try to do whatever I can do to help our team win," said Gieseke. "We have to try start games better. I am playing with a lot of confidence right now and making smarter decisions. We are coming together as a team off and on the court."

Barker joined Gieseke in double digits with 10 points including a pair of 3-pointers. Atherton came off the bench to score 8 points with 5 rebounds.

"I have been working hard in practice in hope of helping the team more once I get in the game," said Atherton. "Today I felt I played well and helped the team win."

Kaleigh Johnson paced McHenry with 11 points.

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