Spiwak sparks Rolling Meadows past Hoffman Estates

In her first year on the varsity, sophomore Kyra Spiwak has been put in one of the most important positions on the floor for the Rolling Meadows girls basketball team.

"As a sophomore point guard, there's a balance you look for," said Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "It's knowing when to call your own number (going to the basket) or getting us into something else. She is getting better at that."

Spiwak sure was better than anyone at scoring points on Thursday night.

She drove for a career-high 21 as the Mustangs got past host Hoffman Estates 56-43 in the Mid-Suburban League crossover.

Meadows, which led 21-5 after the first quarter, fought hard to prevent the Hawks from making a second-half comeback.

Hoffman, which had six 3-pointers in the game (two apiece by sophomore Monraia Wilson, freshman Tayler Williams and junior Erin Hanson), got to within 10 points on a few occasions in the second half.

But the Mustangs (13-4) always had an answer and finished off the final margin with 2 free throws by Spiwak with 17 seconds left.

"We just had to keep pushing, attacking their pressure with our own pressure," said Spiwak (5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals), whose previous high game was 20 points in overtime against Wheeling.

Junior Katherine Nolan chipped in 12 points while classmate Hannah Mickey pulled down 14 rebounds. Sophomore Morgan Campagna had 7 rebounds with her 6 points while senior Jamie Berry collected 4 assists.

Nolan had 2 buckets and Megan King hit one of her two 3-pointers to give the visitors a 7-0 lead. The lead was extended to 21-5 when Spiwak's entry pass found Nolan for a layup with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.

"You just can't take any plays off," said Nolan, who was on the bench for some time in the third quarter before eventually fouling out.

"We couldn't let the crowd get into our heads when they were rallying."

Nolan was coming off one of her best games in the Mustangs' win over McHenry on Monday night.

"We had high expectations during our summer league," Nolan added. "We want to continue the legacy here."

"It's definitely been hard work," said Spiwak about the Mustangs' 13-4 record despite graduating its top eight players from back-to-back state runner-up teams.

A 3-pointer by Hanson got Hoffman (4-12) to within 50-40 with 5:27 left in the game but Meadows answered when Nolan scored her final bucket.

Sophomore Katherine Perille then went coast-to-coast for a layup that made it 54-40.

"She did a nice job," Kirkorsky said of Perille. "We always talk about attacking pressure with pressure and we needed to get to the rim in that situation."

Wilson led the Hawks with 17 points while Williams added 12. Hanson scored all 8 of her points in the second half while teammate Mynk Richardson-Clerk had two key baskets in the second quarter.

"If we were a little more awake in the first quarter, it would have been more of a game," said Hawks first-year coach Mike Koester. "We definitely did a better job rebounding in the second half. We had a lot of effort on the defensive end and the girls showed a lot of heart. Jennifer Nailor did an outstanding job defensively."

Kirkorsky credited the Hawks, who trailed by as many as 19 points in the second quarter.

"They picked up their intensity in the fourth quarter and we were on our heels in that last stretch," he said. "Credit them. They hit shots and really attacked on the offensive boards.

"We talked about getting the ball into our posts this game. I thought we did that until we got a little frantic late in the game."