Mundelein musters up another win
10 points at halftime? Who is going to win game like that?
Try the home team in the annual Mundelein High School Turkey Tournament.
OK, so it wasn't pretty on Tuesday night. In one two-minute spurt to open the second quarter, both Grayslake North and the host Mustangs of Mundelein combined for 8 turnovers and 4 missed shots.
North (0-2) almost secured its first win of the season. Led by the hard-charging Sidney Lovitsch (13 points, 9 rebounds), the Knights opened up a 19-12 lead to start the third quarter. With three minutes to play in regulation, it was anyone's game knotted at 33-33.One of those four-year varsity performers from Mundelein, Natalie Busscher, scored 5 points down the stretch as her Mustangs moved to 2-0 with a 39-35 win.
So what kind of a game was it, Natalie?
"It was fun,'' Busscher said. "It was exciting. It was intense. And it was a little frustrating at times."
It's the 16th year for Mundelein coach Brian Evans, and he's well aware there are days when the ball won't go through the hoop.
"We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean,'' Evans joked. "Even with our boat in the dock. But our defense is much better this year."
Evans isn't feeling sorry for North's slow start. He's certain the Knights will get better as the season progresses.
'They have some great athletes,'' Evans said. "I'm glad we caught them when we did."
Lovitsch kicked off the festivities on this night with a drive to the hoop. Halfway through the opening quarter and North was tossing a shutout at 5-0. The Mustangs took a brief lead before the quarter expired. And then Maggie Fish (8 points) nailed a 3-pointer to give North a lead they wouldn't surrender until the fourth quarter.
"It was a tough game,'' said North's first-year coach Rob Nicoletti. "But I've very pleased on how well we responded to last night's loss. We just let it slip away at the end.''
Nicoletti was happy to see Lovitsch step up to lead the Knights.
"She was the motor for us tonight,'' he said. "She started it out on the defensive end."
When sophomore guard, Kendall Wald nailed a 3-pointer halfway through the second quarter, the Mustangs had pulled within a single point at 11-10. And then the Mustangs went cold. Lovitsch closed the quarter with a 3-pointer and the Knights took a 17-10 lead to halftime.
The fourth quarter saw the teams battle for the lead. North's freshman guard, Brandi Thibeaux hit one of those 3-pointers that bring rain it was thrown so high in the air. On two free throws from Lovitsch and this game was knotted up at 33-33 with three minutes to play. Busscher's rebound bucket gave her team some breathing room with less than two minutes to play.
"We are a really close group,'' she said. "We have fun but still work hard."