Thornwood coach Ray Scott’s postgame assessment of his team’s performance Thursday against Thornridge sounded more like pregame concerns.
“If you’re playing the No. 1 team in the conference and they’re 6-0 and they beat you by 15 earlier in the year, normally you don’t go into their gym and beat them,” said Scott.
That’s exactly what Thornwood did, dropping SICA East foe Thornridge 56-48. Jackie Gray led Thornwood (12-4, 5-2) with 27 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Teammates Helen Kelliher and Jenny Gricus added 11 and 10 points.
Thornwood established control of the game between the end of the first quarter and halftime. Its 17-3 run in second quarter was capped by a Gray three-pointer.
Thornridge (15-4, 6-1) pulled to within four by the end of the third quarter. But Gray scored 13 in the fourth, hitting nine of 10 from the free-throw line. She hit six straight free throws after Thornridge pulled to within 50-48 with 27 seconds left.
“You could see with two or three minutes to go my kids started to believe they could win this game,” said Scott.
“The kids got ahead and made their free throws.
“This is an outstanding win for our progam and our kids. We have two all-conference players (Kelliher and Gray) and tonight it was Jackie who played well for us. Tomorrow night, it might be Helen.”
Latonia Cantrell led Thornridge with 19 points.
“If we played in the first half like we did in the second, it would’ve been a different game,” said Thornridge coach Sam Kenan. “Our players stood around on offense and defense, and dug a hole for themselves.”
Barrington 47, York 36: No. 6 Barrington (17-3) gained the non-conference victory behind Jana Mathis’ 17 points and five rebounds. Megan Spicer and Lindsey Kamradt each added 10 points and six rebounds.
Barrington led by eight in first half, but York cut the lead to 30-29 with 2:54 left in third quarter. Barrington had a 15-3 run over the next 7:49.
Cary-Grove 57, Dundee-Crown 51: Cary-Grove (5-14, 4-3) never trailed in the Fox Valley. Candice Spiniolas’ 11 points led four players in double figures. Dundee’s Katie Pentz led all scorers with 15 points.
Crystal Lake Central 43, Woodstock 25: Elizabeth Zurek scored 18 points and Christie Keller added 14 as Crystal Lake (14-3, 7-0) won the Fox Valley contest.
“We came out flat, but when we went to our man-to-man defense, we were able to control the game,” said Crystal Lake coach Ray Card. “Elizabeth Zurek hurried things, but overall she had another good game.”
Crystal Lake South 51, McHenry 27: Tonya Edmond’s 20 points led Crystal Lake South (5-12, 2-5) in the Fox Valley.
More Top Picks Brain
Lake Forest 43, Zion-Benton 40: Katie Eiserman (nine points) drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Lake Forest (7-9, 3-5) in the North Suburban.
St. Scholastica 42, Carmel 39: St. Scholastica (11-4, 1-1) led by nine points with 2:00 left in regulation and hung in the GCAC North. Chris Heyd St. Scholastica with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Schaumburg 66, St. Charles 39: Schaumburg’s (13-6) non-conference victory was paced by Davreen Thornton’s double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds). Stephanie Simon led St. Charles (7-10) with 14 points.
Serena 65, Hinckley-Big Rock 58: Terri Perkinson scored 28 for Serena (12-2) and Amanda Orsburn had 15 points and 16 rebounds in the Little 10 tournament semifinal.
Thornton 61, Homewood-Flossmoor 53: Christina Barry led Thornton (11-7, 3-5) in the SICA East with 34 points. Laura Valente had 22 for H-F.
Tilden 80, Harper 46: Tiffney Banks led Tilden (12-5, 7-1) to the Public Blue-Central victory with a career-high 39. Lashell Hamilton added 13 points and eight blocks.