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Guarino, Fenton blitz Ridgewood in third period

Fenton took advantage of 13 turnovers in the third quarter by the Ridgewood Rebels to pull away in the game for a win 63-46 in a Metro Suburban Conference girls basketball game on Tuesday in Bensenville.

Tina Guarino led the Bison with 18 points. Arlena D’Amato had a game-high 22 points for the Rebels.

Guarino scored two key 3-pointers, one at the buzzer as the first quarter ended and two late in the second quarter to give the Bison a 25-19 lead at the half. The Bison (7-2, 3-1) never looked back.

“It was slow going for us,” said Bison coach Tim Anderson. “We missed so many layups and putbacks. At halftime we just talked about fighting through frustration. That five-minute segment in the third quarter was about as good as we looked in a long time. I give them credit for coming out like that in the third quarter. It was pretty nice for us.”

The Rebels broke down coming out of the half, allowing the Bison to outscore them 21-5 in the third quarter to pull away 49-29 after three quarters.

“We had our halftime talk, coach told us what we needed to do,” Guarino said. “We know what we needed to do and we know against (the Rebels) we could do exactly what we needed to do perfectly and we just executed.”

Rachel Leschewski had 11 points in that third-quarter breakout. She had a total of 15 for the game. Guarino, a senior, has been the team’s MVP the last two seasons.

“We’re a really young team, but we get along great together,” Guarino said. “It’s my third year on the team, I have to take a lead role.”

Rebels coach Amanda LoBianco has only one senior, Arlena D’Amato, in the starting lineup, and brought up four players from the sophomore team for the game. The 5-foot D’Amato hit six 3-pointers to keep the Rebels in the game.

“She practices,” LoBianco said. “She comes in early, she stays late and practices on her shot. She’s outsized by every team we play so she got to bring something to the table. She’s a tough kid.”

The Rebels (1-11, 0-4) have been cursed all season by turnovers. They had 25 for the game.

“The 13 turnovers in the third quarter just can’t happen. It was the difference in the game,” LoBianco said.

“We took our advantage against their disadvantage and we came out on top,” Guarino said.

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