No. 11 Regina has been having a little trouble in the consistency department. The Panthers jump out to big leads, only to hang on for close victories.
Thursday’s night’s GCAC Red battle against host Resurrection was no different. Regina squandered several double-digit leads throughout the game but put up a strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter to turn away No. 19 Resurrection 59-49.
“We have to learn–and this is something we’ve been doing a lot of lately–that after we take a big lead we cannot have any letdowns,” Regina coach Jim Russo said. “We think mentally that the games are not four quarters. When we let good, hard-working teams like Resurrection back in the game you look around and say, `We’re in a war here.'”
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Regina (11-5, 3-0) found itself in a battle when Resurrection trimmed a nine-point deficit to 43-41 with 1 minute 43 seconds left in the third. Danica Nelson scored seven points for the Bandits (13-5, 1-3) in the paint in that stretch.
Regina upped its margin to 50-41 just seconds into the fourth after a layup by Lauren Schober (15 points, 11 rebounds). But Resurrection responded with a three-point play by Kristi Cirone and two free throws by Monica Rice (19 points) to cut the Panthers’ lead to 50-46 with 5:44 to go.
That’s as tight as Resurrection could make it as Regina’s defense stiffened and Christina Quaye (12 rebounds) dominated inside by scoring seven of her 19 points the rest of the way. Regina did not allow a field goal for the final 6:16, holding Resurrection to 1-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Bandits didn’t help themselves any by hitting just 6-of-12 from the free-throw line while committing four turnovers.
“We just weren’t hitting our shots tonight,” Resurrection coach Kerry Durham said. “I think our inside play has to get stronger because it looked like we let Quaye walk down the lane towards the end.”
Henry Del Valle.
Naperville Central 55, Glenbard North 36: Candace Parker collected 15 points and eight rebounds as the No. 1 Redhawks (15-0, 4-0) won in the DuPage Valley. Courtney Peters scored 11 points for Naperville Central, which used a 22-0 first-half run to take a 34-14 lead into the intermission. Cara Rogers led Glenbard North (11-5, 2-2) with 15 points.
Marshall 81, Hyde Park 51: Charese Reed scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter and helped spur a 16-4 run for the No. 6 Commandos (12-2, 6-1) in the Public Superconference. Jacquay Holmes added 13 points for Marshall, while Latasha Watt led Hyde Park (12-7, 3-5) with 21.
Young 64, Manley 30: Danielle Campbell led the No. 8 Dolphins (13-4, 7-1) with 13 points and Amanda Thompson added 12 in the Public Superconference.
Hope 67, Mather 48: Shuntae Roberison’s 15 points sparked No. 10 Hope (15-2, 8-0) in the Public Superconference.
Sweet 16 tournament: Deirdre Naughton came alive in the second half, scoring nine of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter, as No. 15 New Trier broke open a two-point halftime lead to defeat host Stevenson in the Sweet 16 Tournament. New Trier never trailed and led by as many as 17 in the fourth.
Monika Slota added 10 points for the Trevians (13-3), who have beaten Stevenson twice in as many weeks. Jessica Altieri led the Patriots (10-7) with 12.
Juarez 40, Orr 38: Elizabeth Arreola’s three-pointer with 0:06 left helped Juarez (9-6, 3-4) win in the Public Blue West.
St. Benedict 74, Seton 62: Jill Hohenadel’s 32 points and 10 rebounds led St. Benedict (8-11, 4-0) in the GCAC White.
St. Francis de Sales 42, Chicago Christian 41: Sheri Ranos’ free throw with three seconds left won it for the Pioneers (11-7).
Thornwood 55, Thornridge 50: Courtney Slaughter’s 19 points paced the Thunderbirds (12-4, 2-2) in the SICA East.
Injury update: Fenwick starter Nicole Rivera, who left Wednesday night’s game against Joliet Catholic when she hit her head on the floor while going for a loose ball, is listed as day-to-day with a concussion, according to Fenwick coach Dave Power.
Another Friar injured against Joliet Catholic was diagnosed with a severely sprained left knee sprain and is now on rutches. Brittany Johnson fell on the knee after being fouled while driving for a layup, and Power said she may be out a couple of weeks.
The No. 2 Friars will host St. Viator on Saturday.
Boys basketball
Thornwood 60, Shepard 40: Eric Gray poured in 32 points on 8-of-11 three-point shooting as the No. 4 Thunderbirds (13-0, 4-0) rolled in the SICA East. Deon Pierce hit six three-pointers for all his points to lead Shepard (1-10, 0-4).
Neuqua Valley 86, St. Charles North 62: Bobby Catchings collected 19 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Carrabin added 18 points off the bench for the No. 9 Wildcats (14-1, 4-0) in the Upstate Eight. Matt Osland led St. Charles North (6-7, 2-3) with 22 points.
Curie 94, Tilden 21: Alex Nowak, Eric Borg and Jonte Johnson each scored 12 points as No. 20 Curie (12-5, 3-0) rolled in the Public Red Central.
Hubbard 74, Gage Park 59: Othyus Jeffers collected 24 points and 11 rebounds and Maurice Jackson added 16 points for the Greyhounds (9-5, 2-1) in the Public Red Central.
Lake Park 72, DeKalb 49: Andy Mack’s 19 points led the Lancers (11-3, 3-2) in the Upstate Eight. Matt Haigh led DeKalb (7-9, 1-4) with 17 points.
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Lake View 53, Foreman 51: Jason Williams’ tip-in with 0:10.7 left gave the Wildcats (7-3, 3-0) a Public Blue North win. Robert Jackson led Lake View with 17.
Mather 80, Taft 70: Michael Shamon poured in 36 points for the Rangers (13-2, 3-0) in the Public Red North.
Riverside-Brookfield 54, Elmwood Park 50: Maggie McCloskey scored 21 points as the Bulldogs (13-1, 4-0) won in the Suburban Prairie Blue. Margaret Gorski led Elmwood Park (9-7, 3-2) with 21 points.
Waubonsie Valley 53, East Aurora 48: Mike Christl collected 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Warriors (10-5, 3-1) pulled out the Upstate Eight win. Jarrah Price scored 12 points for East Aurora (10-3, 2-3), which opened the game with a 9-0 run.