Lake Park holds off Fenwick's comeback
Lake Park coach Brian Rupp could finally breathe a little easier.
Starting the second half on a 13-0 run, Lake Park led 38-16 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Lancers had to stave off a valiant comeback effort by Fenwick in posting a 52-44 win in consolation action of the Dundee-Crown 38th Annual Komaromy Classic Wednesday afternoon in Carpentersville.
On Thursday, Fenwick will play St. Charles North in the consolation bracket at 12:30 p.m. while Lake Park (9-6) will tangle with Maine South for fifth place at 3:30 p.m.
"They (Fenwick) really turned up the defense at the end," said Rupp. "We played two and a half quarters of good basketball, but took some bad shots in the fourth quarter."
The Friars (8-6) sliced the Lancers' 22-point lead to 47-44 with 1:55 left in the contest on a 3-pointer from Grace Kapsch. Those would be the last points Fenwick would score in the game.
Three free throws by Sara Balli and 2 from Eleanor Helm in the last minute sealed the deal for the Lancers.
Balli, with 5 treys, led Lake Park with 20 points.
"We did a good job of keeping our poise at the end of the game," said Balli. "We kept cool and we made our free throws at the end. I have been practicing my 3-point shots and it paid off tonight."
Fenwick assistant coach Lenae Fergerson, subbing for head coach Dave Power who was sick, was impressed with the Friars' comeback.
"We switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half and shut down their 3-point shooting," said the Fenwick assistant. "We also got more layups."
Playing without starter Michela Barbanente, Lake Park seemed in control when leading by 22 in the third quarter. During the 13-0 run to start the second half, Balli scored 6 points on a pair of 3s and Helm tallied 5 points.
The Lancers were 9-of-15 from beyond the arc for 60 percent.
Helm added 13 points while Madeline Mintrup scored 9 on three 3-pointers.
Fenwick, which outscored Lake Park 19-9 in the fourth quarter, was led by Elise Heneghan with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Kapsch added 12 on 4 treys for the Friars.