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Second-half spark lifts Carmel past Mundelein

Starting out strong in the second half can spell the difference between victory and defeat. It can also boost the confidence quite a bit.

Both of those scenarios unfolded Saturday evening as the Carmel Catholic girl basketball team put together one of its best performances thus far after outlasting host Mundelein 41-32 in the finale of the Mustangs Thanksgiving tournament.

Carmel Catholic finished the six-team round-robin event with a 2-3 record while the Mustangs went 1-4.

"That was one of our best games. We kept the turnovers low and handled their pressure well," said Corsair junior forward Mary Kate Mooney, who popped in 8 points to accompany 5 rebounds.

Mooney and her teammates rose to the occasion, especially in the fourth period when Mundelein was poised to make a run.

Mustangs junior forward Kendall Wald's 3-pointer to open the fourth ignited the Mundelein faithful and more importantly drew them to within 26-23.

But again, Carmel answered right back when senior guard Alexa Amato (9 points) drained a trey of her own and the lead was back to 29-23 with 6:23 left in regulation.

That was as close as Mundelein got as Carmel kept up the defensive pressure while also hitting 6-of-9 free throws down the stretch to help keep Mustangs at bay.

Mooney came to life in that fourth period as well, scoring a couple of baskets in the paint and making both her free throws.

"We just came out with a lot of energy and maintained that throughout the game, especially in the second half," added Mooney. "And we finished strong, which really helps our confidence going into the next game."

Carmel Catholic coach Kelly Perz was particularly happy with the turnover issue. In Carmel Catholic's two victories, they committed 15 turnovers or less.

"We had 11 tonight and that was good," the coach said. "We just did a lot of things right tonight, from rebounding well to keeping them off the offensive glass."

Junior forward Daija Pruitt was also doing her usual thing on the scoring end, pumping in a game-high 13 points to go along with 7 boards.

"For having a young team, I was so happy that we didn't crack under pressure," added Perz, whose team travels to face always-tough Resurrection on Monday. "When they cut our lead to 3, we answered right back. We kept our cool when under pressure."

Meanwhile, Mundelein received solid performances from several players in the losing effort.

Senior forward Amy Richards and Wald each scored 10 points to lead the Mustangs.

Richards and Pruitt were named to the All-tournament team.

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