As the turnovers mounted and his team sank further into its funk, Washington girls coach Willie Byrd could do nothing more than bury his head in his hands.
For Byrd, watching his struggling team implode in the second half was a painful sight. The end result was even more painful: No. 16 Washington lost its third straight, this time to another team looking for answers, Dunbar, 55-47 in a Public Superconference game Thursday at Dunbar.
“That was the worst second half I’ve seen,” said Byrd, referring to the 17 points Washington (9-5, 2-2) mustered in the final two quarters. “This is the first team I’ve ever had to just quit out there. This is not a Washington team. This is the first time in my 13 years that we’ve lost three straight.”
Dunbar (12-8, 3-2), which has struggled at times this season, avoided a three-game losing streak of its own thanks to the return of Lanicka Smith, who had missed the last two weeks due to off-court problems.
Smith, a 6-foot junior and Dunbar’s only inside presence, recorded 19 rebounds, 14 points and four steals. She had 15 of her rebounds in the second half as Dunbar dominated the boards to outscore Washington 31-17 in the final two quarters. In the fourth quarter, when Dunbar held Washington to six points, Smith recorded seven rebounds, four points and a steal.
“They needed me down there to get rebounds, and that’s what made us successful,” said Smith.
Desire Wheeler led Dunbar with 25 points and had five steals. The Arizona-bound guard scored eight in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer to break a 42-42 tie and spark a 13-5 run to close out the game.
Washington, which had 24 turnovers, was led by LaTonya Reed’s 15 points and 10 rebounds. Angelina Williams tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks but had only two points in the fourth quarter and no rebounds.
“We’ve been talking all week about the problems we’ve been having,” said Mighty Women coach Ollie Jackson. “The kids told me that today they were going to make their comeback and play the way they should. This gets us back on track.”
Sean Duncan.
Stevenson 61, Warren 39: DePaul-bound Jenni Dant netted 22 points to go with Maritza Morales’ 13 as the No. 2 Patriots (18-1, 7-0) cruised in the North Suburban Lake. Tina Mrock scored 12 points for Warren (7-14, 1-5).
Marshall 83, Westinghouse 28: Coach Dorothy Gaters notched win No. 699 as Cappie Pondexter scored 26 points and Tiffany Sardin added 24 for No. 5 Marshall (12-3, 3-0) in the Public Superconference. Ka’Ron Hughes and Jacquay Holmes scored 12 points apiece in the victory. Westinghouse (6-10, 0-3) received 15 points from Otsha Brown.
Hillcrest 75, T.F. South 46: Janelle Hughes scored 20 points, Nadia Bibbs added 15 and Cherry McCraklin had 10 for No. 7 Hillcrest (16-1, 6-0) in the SICA East. Lauren Nakoff’s 17 points led T.F. South (7-9, 4-2).
Hope 59, Fenger 29: Kristin Moore collected 20 points and 11 rebounds for ninth-ranked Hope (15-3, 4-1).
West Chicago 57, Wheaton North 22: Sarah Bass scored 17 points and Kathy Brinn added 11 for No. 12 West Chicago (18-2, 5-1) in the DuPage Valley.
Naperville Central 90, Glenbard East 43: Candace Parker poured in 31 points and Christina Kowalski chipped in with 12 as the No. 14 Redhawks rolled in the DuPage Valley.
Sandburg 78, Joliet 44: Lyndsey Krieger hit five three-pointers and finished with 19 points as No. 15 Sandburg (14-5, 4-1) cruised in the SICA West. Erika Nelson added 13 points. Marybelle Olivas was the top scorer for Joliet (5-15, 0-5) with 12 points.
Rich South 56, Kankakee 36: The No. 18 Stars (16-3, 5-0) romped in the SICA South as Lakina Holman, Rachel Reed and Nicole Garcia each scored nine points. Taira White had 11 points for Kankakee (1-14, 0-4).
St. Charles East 48, Neuqua Valley 45: Carly Cnesko put in 17 points, including four key free throws down the stretch, and Lexi Stormo pitched in with 12 to help the Saints (12-5, 6-1) upset No. 20 Neuqua Valley in the Upstate Eight. Cassie Stark led Neuqua Valley (16-4, 6-1) with 16 points.
Andrew 36, Lockport 23: Dawn Vander Meer led Andrew (10-8, 3-2) with 19 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the SICA West.
Bowen 61, Calumet 41: Taheisha King tallied 32 points for Bowen (13-5, 4-1) in the Public South.
Curie 73, Collins 43: Shimera Jones and Michelle Hodges scored 22 points apiece for Curie (10-3, 6-0) in the Public West.
Good Counsel 59, Mother Guerin 48: Stephanie Sabaduquia’s 12 points and Amber Healy’s 10 led Good Counsel (12-9, 3-2) in the GCAC White. Mother Guerin (8-13, 3-5) received 12 points from Lisa Filskov.
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Harlan 80, Carver 72: Vivian Crawford put in 20 points and Chana Bates added 16 to lead Harlan (13-5, 5-0) in the Public South.
Lake Park 71, Streamwood 57: Katie Herman scored 22 points and was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line for Lake Park (10-10, 5-2) in the Upstate Eight.
Morgan Park 45, Lane Tech 39: Tiffany Scott scored 19 points to lead Morgan Park (13-6, 2-1) in the Public Superconference.
Naperville North 46, West Aurora 39: Sarah Lenert and Rachel Karos scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, to pace the Huskies (11-7, 4-2) in the DuPage Valley. Sharkiesa James’ 10 points led West Aurora (3-15, 1-5).
Riverside-Brookfield 36, Kaneland 35: Riverside-Brookfield (10-6, 6-3) received 13 points from Renee Ramsey and two key fourth-quarter steals, which led to layups, by Monica Jasso in the Suburban Prairie White. Kaneland (8-4, 5-3) was led by Maggie Kainz’s 15 points.
Romeoville 45, Oak Lawn 32: Tiffany McCrackin’s 18 points sparked the Spartans (10-8, 2-3) in the SICA North.
Seton 51, St. Benedict 49: Simone Veal scored 18 points and Jennifer Hoffman added 13 for Seton (5-15, 2-4) in the GCAC White.
Thornridge 43, Bloom 34: Lisa Branch scored 17 points to lift Thornridge (10-9, 4-1) in the SICA East.
Tinley Park 44, Eisenhower 38: April Polk scored 13 points for Tinley Park (7-7, 3-2) in the SICA Central. Eisenhower (1-17, 1-5) was paced by Davina Biloche’s 29 points.
Young 66, Hyde Park 54: Candis Jackson scored 34 points to lift Young (6-8, 4-1) in the Public Superconference.
Boys
Amundsen 64, Roosevelt 49: Austin Seeley scored 22 points, while Maurice Harris had 14 and Dung Quang 10 for Amundsen (8-6, 1-1) in the Public Blue North. Roosevelt was paced by Cliff Felix’s 16 points and Marvin Vega’s 11.
Dunbar 68, Robeson 64: Jason Straight scored eight of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as Dunbar (6-5, 1-0) prevailed in Public Red Central. Martel Mahorn added 17 points, while Aaron Spears had 15 points in a game that had 13 lead changes.
“It was a big win for us . . . to start off with a victory in the conference,” Dunbar coach Fate Mickel said. “Especially since we’re the defending champions.”
Robeson (7-7, 1-1) received 18 points each from George Jones and Amir Major. James Roberson finished with 16.
“We ran out of gas and we didn’t have the legs at the end to hit our jump shots,” Robeson coach Charles Redmond said. “Straight killed us. I told our team at the beginning of the game, `The main thing we have to do is stop [Straight] from penetrating.’ But at the end we couldn’t do it.”
DuSable 73, Harper 56: DuSable (6-7, 2-0) rolled in the Public Red Central behind Benyamin Robinson’s 24 points and Richard Gray’s 15. Julian Price led Harper (4-7, 0-2) with 20 points, while Michael Clark added 19.
Ida Crown 70, Yeshiva 60: Josh Robinson tallied 28 points and 13 rebounds to lift the Aces (11-0) in the Metro Prep.
Lincoln Park 75, Sullivan 46: Royce Parran scored 15 points and Jermaine Haines added 13 for Lincoln Park (2-7, 1-0) in the Red North.
Steinmetz 71, Mather 56: Marcquintice Davis scored 19 points and Marchello Crawford added 14 to lead Steinmetz (8-5, 1-1) in the Red North.
Tilden 51, Bogan 50: Cornelius Pitts hit the game-winning free throw with 10 seconds remaining to lift Tilden in the Blue Central. Pitts finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Keith Gayden led Tilden (8-6, 2-0) with 16.
Von Steuben 64, Lane 60: Phillip Watson’s 15 points and 10 rebounds paced Von Steuben (9-3, 2-0) in the Red North. Teammate Darnell Rawls added 13 points and seven assists. In the final 1:30, Watson sank two free throws and Rawls was 4-of-4 from the line to seal the victory. Curtis Collins paced Lane (9-7, 1-1) with 20 points.