Fans may not have liked Schaumburg’s non-conference schedule. And Schaumburg players may not have appreciated losses to Glenbrook South, Wheaton-Warrenville South, Warren and Lake Zurich.
But it’s times like Tuesday night’s 40-36 upset of previously unbeaten Conant that makes a tough non-league schedule a thing of beauty for Saxons coach Joe Breault.
“What I’m happy about is that we control our own destiny in terms of what we wanted to accomplish in the (Mid-Suburban) South,” said Breault. “Our non-conference schedule was tough, but it really paid off in that we played four quarters of basketball and worked hard to the end.”
Carrie Stevens scored a game-high 19 points and had seven in a key 9-0 third-quarter run for host Schaumburg (11-6, 4-0), which never trailed against the ninth-ranked Cougars (19-1, 3-1) and stayed atop the Mid-Suburban League South Division standings.
Stevens may have been the offensive star, but Schaumburg’s defense also had impressive numbers. Conant (19-1, 3-1) made just 11 of 42 field-goal tries (26 percent) and was 0 for 12 from three-point range. Conant’s Jill Bergmann led the Cougars with 10 points but had just two in the second half.
Conant came within three points with 35 seconds left, but Schaumburg’s Kristin Stewart hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Fenwick 53, St. Ignatius 47: Katie O’Grady scored 10 of her 12 points in a decisive fourth quarter for No. 6 Fenwick (15-2), who overcame a 26-24 halftime deficit and held on in the non-conference battle. Claudette Towers scored 14 and added five second-half steals for the victors. Michelle Shaughnessy led all scorers with 26 points in defeat.
Lake Zurich 64, Prairie Ridge 29: In the Fox Valley, No. 3 Lake Zurich jumped to a 22-4 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Alicia Ratay led the Bears with 24 points. Prairie Ridge is 5-12, 2-7.
Maine South 68, Maine East 40: No. 5 Maine South (17-3, 5-0 Central Suburban North) rolled with Denise Pavichevich’s 16 points. Maine East fell to 3-17, 1-4.
Buffalo Grove 60, Barrington 47: In the Mid-Suburban North, Christy Compobasso led the No. 13 Bison (16-2, 4-0) with 25 points and Jaime Dineen added 11. Nicki Eason had 21 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for Barrington (4-14, 1-3).
Dundee-Crown 47, Crystal Lake South 26: Kelley Storm’s 15 points and Billee Russell’s 12 helped No. 16 Dundee-Crown (14-3, 8-1) cruise in the Fox Valley. Crystal Lake South fell to 2-14, 1-8.
Hillcrest 72, Thornton Fractional South 35: In the SICA Central, Shavonna Hunter led the Hawks (15-2, 5-0) with 25 points, and Nickey Sims scored 13 and added a school-record 15 steals.
Homewood-Flossmoor 42, Crete-Monee 26: In non-conference play, the No. 17 Vikings (15-3) were led by Megan Bramlette’s 20 points.
Warren 57, North Chicago 19: No. 19 Warren (16-3, 5-1) cruised in the North Suburban behind Becky Moo (15 points) and Tiffany Kelver (14).
More Top Picks Why Sunglasses Indoors Make Light Sensitivity Worse
Amundsen 38, Senn 24: Vanessa Rios scored 18 points, and Maryam Elamin grabbed 16 rebounds for Amundsen (9-3, 5-1) in the Public Blue North.
Bremen 51, Oak Forest 45: Bremen (13-5) won in the SICA Central behind Patrice Jennings’ 19 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five blocks and four assists. Kristin Kwasny led Oak Forest (10-6) with 21 points.
Cary-Grove 64, Grayslake 43: Liz Malmen (24 points), Stephanie Perkins (18) and Kristen Kedzior (15) led Cary-Grove (14-3, 8-2) in the Fox Valley.
Chicago Latin 59, Lake Forest Academy 24: Katie Hefferon (14 points, 15 rebounds) led Latin (13-1, 8-0) to the Independent School League rout.
Crystal Lake Central 37, McHenry 33 (OT): Crystal Lake (8-8, 4-5) outscored McHenry 8-4 in overtime to prevail in the Fox Valley. Tammy Springer led the victors with 14 points, nine blocks and eight rebounds.
Hersey 54, Fremd 50: Nicolette McCartny had 14 points and seven rebounds for Hersey, which used a 9-0 run in the last 1:37 to triumph in the Mid-Suburban North. Lynell Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Fremd (13-5, 3-1).
Kelvyn Park 67, Lake View 48: Sabrina Rodriguez scored 35 points to lead Kelvyn Park (5-3, 4-2) in the Public Blue North.
Little 10 tournament: In quarterfinals, Hinckley-Big Rock (10-2) ripped Malta 60-42 behind Kristin Miller (20 points, nine rebounds).
Palatine 54, Wheeling 36: Karen Hagberg had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Palatine (9-9, 1-3 Mid-Suburban North). Maureen Mastalarz led Wheeling (3-13, 0-4).
Phillips 75, Bogan 72: Patricia Wansley scored 43 points, including the go-ahead basket with 58 seconds left, and had 12 rebounds and five assists to lead Phillips (11-4, 5-0) in the Public Red Central. Wansley’s scoring and rebounding totals Tuesday marked her 13th double double in 15 games. She has six triple doubles this season and is averaging 30.2 points and 11 rebounds.
Rolling Meadows, 53, Elk Grove 35: Ellen Ryan’s 12 points paced Rolling Meadows (11-4, 2-2) against Elk Grove (3-14, 0-4).
Taft 46, Von Steuben 21: Taft (11-5, 4-1) jumped to a 28-7 halftime lead and rolled in the Public Red North. Latasha White led the Eagles with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Trinity 77, St. Francis de Sales 66: Tameya Johnson carried Trinity (10-9) with 38 points and 13 rebounds.
Wauconda 45, Round Lake 39: Kelly Sena scored 14 points for Wauconda (12-4).