Shavonna Hunter’s 8-foot jumper with 2 seconds left gave Hillcrest the boost it needed to drive past host Stagg 41-39 in a non-conference matchup Saturday.
“She’s our spark plug and she came up with the big plays down the stretch like hitting the winning basket,” said Hawks coach John Maniatis.
No. 18 Hillcrest bounced back from a loss Monday to Homewood-Flossmoor to beat Lincoln-Way the next day for third place in its own tournament. It used that win to fuel Saturday’s victory, Maniatis said.
“We had a tremendous ball game against Lincoln-Way in the third-place game, which solidified our confidence level again,” he said.
Nickey Sims had 14 points for Hillcrest (12-2) and fed Hunter the ball for the winning shot. Jenelle Hart scored 12 for Stagg (7-7).
Loyola 63, Queen of Peace 50: Top-ranked Loyola (17-0, 4-0) was surprised, but not undone, by the Packers in the GCAC Red game.
“We thought it was going to be easy, but early on it wasn’t,” Loyola’s Jeanette Paukert said. “In the second half we wanted to take away their passing lanes and concentrate on defense.”
Paukert’s 18 points, Olga Gvozdenovic’s 15, and Laura Sobieszczyk’s 14 gave the Ramblers a comfortable 61-38 lead in the fourth quarter, and coach Tanya Johnson sat her starters. Queen of Peace rallied late and ended the game on a 12-2 run.
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“They continued to press us,” Johnson said. “I should have left my starters in.”
Gina Spano tallied 23 points for Queen of Peace (13-4, 1-2).
Downers Grove South 51, Naperville Central 47: The Mustangs withstood a late fourth-quarter run to deal Naperville Central its fourth straight loss. Tess Kochan scored 19 points and Jen Wilkinson added 16 for the Redhawks (10-7). Aubree Lawrence’s 16 points paced Naperville Central (8-8).
“We are a much better basketball team than this and I don’t have any good reason for our poor play,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. “Quite frankly, our opponents want to win more than we do. That’s got to change or else we’re in for it.”
Glenbard West 67, Willowbrook 47: Kristi Faulkner’s 29 points and Jessica Wilhite’s 16 led Glenbard West (12-4). Katie Clark scored 14 for Willowbrook (8-8).
Joliet 66, Minooka 53: Lori Shelby scored 35 points, including five three-pointers, and had six steals and six assists for Joliet (11-7). Brandi Teamer added 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Steelwomen.
Richmond-Burton tournament: Marengo downed Richmond-Burton 65-49 to win the championship. Kristan Knake who tied the tournament’s four-game scoring record of 76 points Friday, scored 20 points against Richmond-Burton and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Emily Ettner added 18 points for the Indians (14-1) who were undefeated in the tournament. Marie Holian had 10 points for Richmond-Burton (10-6), which finished 3-2. Holian finished the tournament with 11 three-pointers after breaking the tournament record Friday. The tournament was expanded to five games this year to accommodate two additional teams.
Kelly Landers hit the game-winning shot with less than 10 seconds left to give Marian Central (10-6) a 32-30 victory over Jacobs (2-14).
Harvard held off Johnsburg 38-34. Katie Widmayer led Harvard (10-7) with 11 points, and Amy Maretich scored 17 points for Johnsburg (0-15).
Rolling Meadows 40, Downers Grove North 34: Rolling Meadows’ full-court press forced nine Trojans turnovers in the last 4 minutes, which Ellen Ryan converted into seven points for the Mustangs. Jaclyn Jares led Rolling Meadows (9-4) with 12 points, while Laura Wardlow and Brooke Bonney had 10 points apiece for Downers Grove North (2-13).
West Chicago 59, Addison Trail 21: West Chicago rolled past Addison Trail behind Leslie Harlson’s 21 points, Kim Olson’s 12 and Janine Morris’ 10.
Wheaton Academy tournament: Glenbard North routed Wheaton Academy 51-37 to win the championship. Melissa Oliver scored 14 points to lead the victors, while Jenny Fichera had 12 points for Wheaton.
In an early round, Wheaton Academy downed Aurora Central Catholic 63-38. Jennifer Clum had 18 points and Sarah Harris collected 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Warriors.
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