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Buchholz spurs Glenbard West comeback bid

Glenbard West guard Kassie Buchholz is one determined girls basketball player.

With the Hilltoppers trailing by double digits in the first quarter of Tuesday's Riverside-Brookfield Holiday Classic tournament game against Oak Lawn, Buchholz was not going to let her team fall further behind.

The senior sparked a rally in the second quarter to help Glenbard West pull ahead briefly, but the Spartans' size in the post proved to be too much to overcome as Oak Lawn pulled out a hard-fought 54-43 victory over the Hilltoppers in Riverside.

Buchholz led Glenbard West with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. During that crucial second-quarter 9-0 run, she nailed a quick pull-up 3-point shot from the right wing and finished a transition bucket after a steal. Guard Catherine Reedy and forward Ellen Daniels scored in that stretch too.

A few possessions later, Buchholz's 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Hilltoppers a 19-18 lead with 2:23 to play before halftime. That erased the earlier 12-2 lead by the Spartans.

That strong focus continued for Glenbard West (1-11) in the second half. The score remained tied through most of the third quarter as the Hilltoppers showed no fear taking the ball to the hoop in order to stay close. Guards Zoe O'Day and Grey Hayes also hit clutch shots.

"We needed to have more mental focus," Buccholz said. "That was one of the things we talked about at halftime - setting our own pace for the game instead of playing to theirs. That really helped us out in the second half and in the second quarter too. Going in with a new mentality, we played more as a team. "

Oak Lawn's size advantage - 6-foot forward Brianna Markusic, 5-11 forward Kelly Touchie and 5-10 forward Alyssa Radoicic - was most evident on the offensive glass, where the trio put back numerous second-chance attempts. Markusic was really active, scoring 9 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to help the Spartans (8-8) pull ahead for good and avenge an earlier loss to Glenbard West, which captured a 40-27 decision at the Glenbard East Thanksgiving tourney on Nov. 26.

"We've been talking about it a lot in the practice the last three weeks - crashing the offensive glass," said Oak Lawn coach Mark Sevedge. "We have decent size and have been working a lot in practice. It was nice to see it pay off today.

Sevedge was happy his team prevailed over the scrappy Hilltoppers.

"Glenbard West is an extremely tough team," Sevedge said. "In the game at the Glenbard East tournament, they beat us, outworked us, outhustled us, outcoached us. They did everything they could to win the game. I really like their guards. They are tough girls.

"We watched a lot of film on them. I thought if we could rebound the ball and contain their guards better than we did the last game, we would be in a good position to win. They are a tough team. I knew they would fight back after being down early."

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