Rappe, Carmel enjoy tourney rebound

A pair of heartbreaking losses to start Warren's Blue Devil Classic was not sitting well with Carmel Catholic's girls basketball team.

After losses to Warren and Palatine, the Corsairs pulled out a 55-47 win over Deerfield on Tuesday.

Emma Rappe led the way, as she paced all scorers with 18 points. She also had 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

"After we lost to Palatine (Monday), we needed to build our confidence," Rappe said. "After the second quarter (Tuesday), we started to play as a team."

Deerfield led 31-27 at halftime and then the Warriors' Margot Sylvan (team-high 16 points) opened the third quarter with a layup. But Carmel came back, as Daija Pruitt converted two free throws and Alexa Amato sank a free throw. Rappe then scored the next 6 points.

First, she stole the ball at midcourt and sank a layup, then she hit two more layups to give the Corsairs a 36-33 with 4:30 left in the third.

"Emma has the ability to get hot at anytime," Carmel coach Kelly Perz said. "If the defense tries to overplay her, they will foul her."

The two teams exchanged baskets the rest of the quarter as Carmel (5-8, 1-2 tourney) outscored Deerfield 16-8 to take a 43-39 lead into the fourth. The Corsairs never looked back.

"In the second half, our defense took over, which allowed us to take better shots," Perz said.

Pruitt led Carmel on the glass with 11 rebounds. Alexa Amato added 16 points, including a 3-pointer. Danielle DeLozier contributed 9 points and 6 rebounds.

"In the third quarter, we were able to get our offense into the flow." DeLozier said.

For Deerfield (5-8, 0-3), Elena Brichacek added 9 points. Olivia Westrich and Jesse Holloway each had 8 points.

"We need to play both halves," Warriors coach Mike Muldrow said. "We played a great first half, but Carmel extended their defense and that stopped our offense."