Antioch loses — but still wins

After Paige Gallimore scored 45 points for Antioch in its win over Fenwick on Friday at Niles North, coach Tim Borries had a sinking feeling.

“After we beat Fenwick, in the back in my mind, I was afraid that we would come out flat,” he said.

Alas for the Sequoits, they did just that.

But despite Niles North knocking off Antioch 58-53 Saturday, the Sequoits won the championship with a 4-1 record.

Gallimore led all scorers with 16 points. She was named MVP of the tourney after averaging 31 points per game. Freshman Ashley Reiser also was named to the all-tournament team for Antioch (5-1 overall).

“(Friday) we played the best basketball we’ve ever played as a team and today we started out flat,” Gallimore said.

Niles North improved to 3-2.

“I was happy with the way we guarded the ball,” Vikings coach Dan Paxson said. “I thought our kids came out with a burst of energy.”

Antioch trailed 26-22 at halftime, before outscoring Niles North 18-8 in the third quarter to go up 40-34. But the Vikings outscored the Sequoits 24-13 in the fourth.

Alyssa Brand (15 points) opened the fourth for Niles North with a 3-pointer and followed with a hook shot. Olivia Schaps’ layup put the hosts in front at 41-40 with 7:02 left.

Eight unanswered points had Niles North up 52-44 midway through the quarter.

The Sequoits came within 53-51 with 45 seconds left, but Stephanie Donado (9 points) converted the back end of a one-one to clinch the victory.

Shar Rusho also scored 15 points for the Vikings, while Kenya Jones added 11.

Besides Gallimore, Antioch received double-digit points from Reiser (14 points), her twin Amy (13) and Alexis Duehr (10), who also hustled for 8 rebounds. Ashley Reiser had 5 assists and 6 steals, as well, while Carly McCameron grabbed 11 rebounds for the Sequoits.