Reiser, Antioch power past Resurrection

Antioch's girls basketball team remained undefeated, as the Sequoits outlasted Resurrection 55-42 in the second round of the "Somebody's Hero" Thanksgiving tournament at Niles North on Saturday.

The Sequoits (3-0) sped to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter, but Resurrection came roaring back, scoring 13 unanswered points to come within 23-21 at halftime.

Resurrection's Monica Nunez and Maddie Larsen opened the second half with back-to-back layups to give the Bandits a 25-21 lead. But Antioch's Kelly Johnson sank a layup and converted the foul shot to tie the score at 25-25. Ashley Reiser then hit a pair of free throws to give Antioch a 26-25 lead, and the Sequoits never looked back.

Reiser led all scorers with 19 points (two 3-pointers) and added 5 assists and 3 steals. It was the third game in a row that Reiser had more assists than turnovers.

Up 36-32 after three quarters, Antioch hit some clutch free throws in outscoring Resurrection 19-10 in the fourth.

"We played well overall," Reiser said. "In the second quarter, we had a mental and physical breakdown. We also got into a little bit of foul trouble, but we made adjustments on offense and defense in the second half."

Johnson and Carly McCameron added 10 points apiece for Antioch.

"This was a great game for us," Antioch coach Tim Borries said. "I knew that this game was going to be a little bit of a challenge. In the first quarter, we came out very disciplined and stayed within the game. But then we got into foul trouble and we were doing things we shouldn't have been doing."

He tipped his hat to his point guard, Reiser.

"She had a great game," Borries said. "She's almost 2-1 ratio in assists over turnovers, and she controls our team in our pace and is a true leader on the court."

McCameron pulled down 9 rebounds, as well. Amy Reiser added 7 points, and Alexis Duehr contributed 7 points and 6 rebounds.

Nunez led Resurrection with 14 points, Larson chipped in 12 and Taylor Farrel added 9.

After the game, Resurrection's players serenaded coach Keith Miniscalco, who was celebrating his 55th birthday.

"I'm proud of the way our team came back in the second quarter," Miniscalco said. "In the second half, Ashley Reiser took over. Their team is bigger than us and it just tired us out."