Shorthanded South Elgin knocks off Bartlett

Even down "two-and-a-half" starters, South Elgin got the job done against visiting Bartlett.

Caroline Croft scored 16 points, Ella Winterhalder 14, and Caitlyn Tolentino 12 as the Storm downed Bartlett, 59-38, in upstate 8 action in South Elgin. First-time starter Chloe Kmiec hit a couple of big 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 9.

Zoie Lewis and Raina Yang were out of the Storm lineup and Winterhalder was hampered by plantar fasciitis. Still, the Storm led 33-19 and broke the game open with a 19-7 advantage in the third quarter.

Amadea Montijo led the Hawks with 10 points, while Laney Stark added 8.

"Right now we're going through crazy, crazy health protocols and injuries," said Storm coach Dan Mandernack. "Ella is basically playing on 1 foot, but she kept us in it. They made the first 3 to start the game, then I think Ella had our first 8 points."

Winterhalder set the school record for made 3-pointers in a career at 202 on Tuesday, as well as scoring her 1,000th point at South Elgin.

"We're feeling a lot of adversity with injuries and COVID and everything," said Winterhalder. "Our shots weren't necessarily falling, but we stuck together, and that was a big key to today's game."

"Between Ella and Caroline, they refuse to lose," Mandernack said. "They just had that look in their eye."