Naughton, Boyd help Elk Grove get the job done
Elk Grove senior guard Kelly Naughton set the defensive tone in the first quarter Friday night with 4 quick steals.
Classmate Diamond Boyd took care business on the offensive end.
Throw in some strong work on the glass, and it all added up to a 60-51 Mid-Suburban East victory by the visiting Grenadiers over Buffalo Grove.
Boyd scored 31 points to go along with 9 rebounds as Elk Grove shook off the disappointment of Tuesday’s loss at Hersey to score the emphatic win.
“Our coach (Kathie Swanson) told us we had to come out tonight and get after it on the boards,” said Naughton. “That’s been killing us.”
“I’m so proud of our team tonight. We played as a team and that’s when we’re at our best.”
Six-foot senior forward Bailey North led the Bison (8-16, 3-7), who had a strong first half but struggled in the third quarter, with 11 points.
“Too many turnovers,” said BG coach Steve Kolodziej. “We had more than 20.”
“We shot well from the field (44%), but you can’t have that many turnovers and expect to win.”
A couple of early 3-pointers from sophomore guard Julie Jambrone helped push the Bison to a 17-16 first quarter lead, and two more 3’s by Maddie Welter helped BG forge a 29-29 tie at halftime.
But with Jambrone on the bench with 4 fouls, Elk Grove went on a 17-5 run in the third quarter to take control.
“Julie’s a big part of what we do,” said Kolodziej, “but this is a team effort, and we just weren’t ready to play (in the second half). That’s something we’ve got to fix.”
A long 3-point basket by guard Stephanie Solis helped the Grens (17-10, 7-3) open up a 16-point lead midway through the final quarter, and the Bison couldn’t get any closer than the final score.
Jambrone and Kimberly Herzog each scored 8 points for the Bison, while Angela Budimir added 7.
Naughton finished with 9 points and 6 steals for the Grens, while Solis and junior Melissa Solorio each scored 8.
“We showed a lot of heart tonight,” said Naughton. “We did what we needed to do and we got the win.”