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Flores flourishes as Grant beats Huntley

Some may have questioned whether MaCalyn Flores could handle the physicality of varsity basketball.

Grant coach Kevin Geist never did. He knew his 5-foot freshman had the moxie - and skills.

"I've been coaching her since she was in seventh grade when she was at our summer camps," Geist said after Flores helped his Bulldogs beat visiting Huntley 54-38 in a nonconference matinee in Fox Lake on Saturday. "She's fearless. She's tough. Even the refs during the summer would say, 'Who's that? Is she going to be able to play?' I said, 'Just watch. You'll see.' By the end of the game, they were saying, 'Wow, you were right.' She's relentless with her pressure, she plays good defense, she's always got a smile on her face, she's always there to pick up her teammates, and she's always willing to share the ball."

Flores has flourished. Geist rewarded her with a starting guard spot after the Bulldogs finished up the Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament, and "Mighty MaC" hasn't disappointed. She scored a team- and season-high 18 points, as Grant improved to 12-6, while dropping Huntley to 6-10.

Flores shot 5 of 8 from the floor (two 3-pointers) and 6 of 6 from the stripe, and dished out 3 assists. On a couple of drives to the basket, her tiny frame crashed to the court, but she quickly popped back up on her feet.

"I just go up strong," Flores. "Put a body into them."

"When she needs to, she can take care of herself," Geist said. "She's a true definition of a Bulldog."

Grant has been winning big games thanks to its small guard and big post. Sophomore Jazzlyn Linbo scored 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in helping Grant build a 14-11 lead on Huntley after one quarter. The 6-2 Linbo and senior guard Ally Mahinay each finished with 13 points. Brooke Karpinske, who was named MVP after helping the Bulldogs win their own Christmas tournament, had 6 points, including a 3-pointer.

"(Winning the tournament) built up our confidence," Flores said.

Up 22-15 at halftime, Grant got a long jumper from Flores to open the second-half scoring and grew the lead to 38-20 late in the third when Karpinske fed a cutting Mahinay for a layup.

Flores scored 13 points after halftime.

"They had a lot of kids step up for their team in the second half, in particular (Flores)," Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. "They did a great job of being very balanced with their scoring. They got a lot of cuts going to the rim and drives going to the rim. They got out in transition and knocked down shots. They did a variety of things to us offensively that made it very difficult for us to contain them at times."

Huntley sophomore post Kamsi Nwogu scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. She shot 7 of 16, finishing both left-handed and right-handed shots at the basket, and sank 7 of 9 free throws. The Red Raiders didn't have another double-digit scorer. They also got outscored 16-7 in the third.

"We just had some breakdowns defensively where we didn't get the stops we needed during that stretch in the third quarter," Raethz said. "It was a tough second half."

Grant has won four in a row, and while none of the teams the Bulldogs played in their own tourney have a winning record, they will take the momentum.

"We're a relatively young team, and our confidence wavers from time to time," Geist said. "You still got to finish a team. You still got to play well. You still got to share the ball. I think we're trending in the right direction."

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