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Prokof, Warren win a close one

Standing at the foul line with the game on the line was a situation Paige Prokof had never experienced in her basketball career.

Having the chance to win a game in the final seconds was a situation Warren had not experienced much of this season.

In Warren's opening game of its Blue Devil Classic against Carmel Catholic on Saturday, Prokop attempted to put back an offensive rebound and was fouled with 3.5 seconds left and the score tied.

"We shoot a lot of free throws in practice," Prokof said. "I just kept thinking about what I would do in practice. 'Calm down. You can do this.' "

With her adrenaline flowing, the senior forward missed the first throw.

She composed herself, however, and swished the second. And when Carmel couldn't get off a last-second shot, Warren had pulled out a 40-39 win.

"I was like, 'All right, you got one more (free throw). This is it. Focus,' " Prokof said.

It was just the second win in 10 games this season for Warren, which couldn't protect a 7-point halftime lead against Libertyville on Friday night and fell 40-32. The Blue Devils have three losses by 6 or fewer points.

"The kids have worked very hard over the course of the last 7-8 weeks," coach John Stanczykiewicz said. "I'm really happy for them. I'm proud of them that they stuck with it. They've never felt sorry for themselves. It's never reflected in their performance. They come expecting to win every game."

Guard Alexa Amato led Carmel with 12 points on four 3-pointers, three in the second half. Sophomore forward Daija Pruitt scored 11 points (7-of-8 foul shooting) and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Warren faced the Corsairs without a pair of key players in guard Kylie Nedelka (calf) and post Brittny Ellis (track commitment). Stanczykiewicz called it his team's most consistent effort of the season.

"We have a great team," said Lawrence University-bound guard Sammi Jo Nixon, who scored 12 of her game-high 13 points in the second half. "We're really young, so we're all still trying to figure each other out. Today we knew that we had to come out stronger."

Carmel (4-7), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped, went up 39-35 on Sam Melillo's lone basket with 2:35 left in the fourth. But Nixon answered with a basket and foul (she missed the free throw), and then sank 2 foul tosses with 1:14 to go to tie the score.

Nixon's 3-pointer helped Warren outscore Carmel 12-9 in the third quarter to take a 26-25 edge into the fourth.

"We talked to Sammi Jo about maybe not settling for jump shots as much and to look to go to the basket more," Stanczykiewicz said. "I think she took advantage of that today."

Guard Alexis Young added 8 points, including a pair of clutch baskets in the fourth quarter, for Warren. Blue Devils freshman Jordyn Hughes collected 6 steals, while Rebekah Foley contributed 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

"I saw a resolve today that I don't always see," Stanczykiewicz said. "It was a good team win."

The tournament resumes Monday with Carmel facing Palatine at 3 p.m. and Warren playing Deerfield at 4:30 p.m.

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