Duehr, Antioch knock off Vernon Hills for first time
There is no softball for Antioch junior Alexis Duehr.
Her older sister, Olivia, will go down as one of Antioch's best-ever softball players.
But don't worry, her younger sister stays plenty busy with field hockey, track and field and basketball - and Alexis makes it clear that basketball is her favorite of the three sports.
On Friday night, Duehr and her Antioch teammates did something they have never done before. They toppled Vernon Hills.
Yes, those great stars, Lauren Webb and Sydney Smith are now in college, but those Cougars left behind a team that gave the Sequoits plenty of trouble before falling 56-47 in a North Suburban Conference Prairie Division battle.
"We came out and took control of the game," Duehr said. "It was a really good game. We were extremely excited to play Vernon Hills."
In many ways it was a game of streaks. A 3-pointer from senior Haley Lieberman quickly made it 5-0 Cougars. And including another 3-pointer from Antioch's Kelly Johnson (13 points), the Sequoits (7-2) had gone on a 13-0 run.
The Antioch lead stretched to 19-9 when senior Shannon Zogran landed another 3-pointer.
Then Cougars guard Mia Polisky gave the home crowd something to cheer about. She had 7 points in the second quarter and the Cougars (6-1) were back in the game.
"We made a few runs in the first half," said Cougars coach Paul Brettner. "But Antioch is a good team. We knew that going in. It's the first time we've been challenged this year. This will be a bad loss only if we don't learn from this game."
The Cougars stormed back right after the halftime break. Dana Meline scored on back-to-back possessions and Katie Brettmann got on the board with a driving layup. Her free throw pulled the Cougars within 28-27 halfway through the third quarter.
"Holy cow, what a game," said Sequoits coach Tim Borries. "It was a game of streaks. We were able to withstand them."
The Sequoits got some help in the second half from the junior Johnson, who scored 6 straight points as Antioch built the lead back to 10. One of her baskets came after an Antioch press.
"I just read the pass," Johnson said. "It turned out well. We played at our pace tonight and we stayed strong."
Borries applauded Johnson's strong play.
"Kelly is very athletic," Borries said. "She's a nice player. She can run and she can hit her free throws."
Duehr's 3-pointer pretty much iced this game with five minutes left. It also helped the Sequoits' cause that the Reiser sisters, Amy and Ashley, hit their free throws down the stretch. Ashley had 9 points and Amy added 7, all in the second half. Polisky and Duehr shared scoring honors for their teams with 15 points each. Kasey Firnbach added 10 points for the Cougars.