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The point is, Collins and Maine West are 2-0

The second-leading scorer in Maine West girls basketball history doesn’t think about points.

She knows that’s pointless.

“When I’m playing I don’t think about it,” said Brittany Collins, who has made a verbal commitment to play for Saint Xavier University. “That only makes me nervous until I score my first basket. When I don’t worry about the points, then they come easier.”

They were coming at a rapid pace in the second half on Tuesday night against Lake Park.

Collins scored 14 of her game-high 21 points with 7 made field goals in the final 16 minutes as Maine West posted a 51-23 victory in the opening-round game of the Hoffman Estates Thanksgiving Tournament.

West (2-0) was nursing a 20-18 lead at the break.

“We just weren’t playing well in the first half,” said the 6-foot Collins, who also had 13 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 2 steals. “We just weren’t awake. It took a while to get into a rhythm. In the second half, we pulled together and played like we know we can.”

Collins now has 1,439 career points.

Megan Edwards is the school’s all-time leader with 1,648.

Senior Julia Huinker added 7 points and 7 rebounds for the Warriors, who were coming off a 45-32 at Palatine on Monday.

Abbey Herling added 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal for the winners while teammate Erin Ross ran the offense with 5 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

“I thought Monica Liwag and Kayla Pociejewski (sophomore guards) did a nice job, too,” said Warriors coach Derril Kipp. “They made a couple of big shots (in the second half) and handled the ball well. That’s what we need from our guards.”

Ross hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to extend the Maine West lead to 34-21.

“We just played with more intensity in the second half,” Kipp said. “In the first half, we missed layup after layup. We got the ball where we wanted, but we didn’t put it in the basket.”

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