Porrata's 4-point play punctuates it as Palatine prevails
Just as Palatine's girls basketball team was pulling away to its biggest lead of the game, Elena Porrata added the exclamation point on Tuesday night.
The 5-foot-2 freshman guard from Winston Campus Junior High turned in a rarity with a 4-point play that all but put the game out of reach.
Porrata hit a fadeaway 3-pointer from right of the key while being fouled, and her free throw gave the Pirates a commanding 41-26 lead.
Less than four minutes later, the Pirates were celebrating a 46-26 triumph over visiting Wheeling in the Mid-Suburban League crossover contest.
"If I ever saw that (4-point play), I don't remember it," said sophomore teammate Syd Rzepka, who also attended Winston. "That was amazing. It's something she will always remember."
The Pirates will want to remember the defense they played Tuesday as they limited the Wildcats to single digits in every quarter.
"We played really well on defense," said Rzepka, who collected 8 points. "We got some turnovers and some big rebounds. Offensively, we had some great shots."
Like the one by Porrata.
"Elena is doing a real nice job," said Pirates coach Mark Johnson, whose team evened its record at 3-3. She has plenty to learn but her skill set and the way she handles the ball are very good. She is already good but she's going to get better."
Wheeling coach Matt Weber said the Pirates were just the better team.
"They out-hustled us and put pressure on us defensively and we didn't respond," he said. They did a good job mixing it up the defense on us. We never got into an offensive flow."
With three minutes left in the first quarter, Palatine led 7-0 thanks to a 17-footer by senior Geena Eliades, 2 free throws by Eliades and a 3-pointer by classmate Michela Leber.
Junior guard Coco Yoshino got the Wildcats' first points when she hit a 3-pointer with 1:55 left making it 7-3.
"I thought we started out the game strong defensively," Weber said. "Credit Palatine. They did a great job being patient on offense and defense and they outrebounded us."
After Yoshino's 3-pointer, Palatine answered right back on a layup by Rzepka.
Kourtney Schuetz fired home a 3-pointer to make it 9-6 before the Wildcats (3-4) got the ball back on a steal by Nansy Velev.
Moments later, Schuetz inbounded the ball under the Wildcats' basket and found Michaela Vasey for a layup at the buzzer, making it 9-8.
Wheeling tied the game at 15 when Melissa Claver tossed in a 3-pointer with 5:25 left in the half.
But Palatine closed the second quarter with an 8-2 run, getting 2 free throws apiece from Eliades, Rzepka and junior Reggie Much, who finished with a team-high 10 points.
Junior forward Corey Rinella helped spark the Pirates' fourth-quarter rally when she scored her 4 points.
Senior Carissa Multon fired a pass to Rinella, who was cutting to the basket and converted the layup for a 35-25 lead.
Multon came right back with a rebound at the end, and it resulted in a another basket by Rinella off an assist from Porrata.
"Corey just had her wisdom teeth pulled about a week ago, but she said she felt good," Johnson said. "We didn't want to overplay her. She came in and gave us some big minutes. She had a couple of big baskets and that's what she does for us. She is a spark."
Sophomore Tiana Henderson scored Palatine's first three baskets of the second quarter for all 6 of her points.
"It was a real good win for us," Johnson said. "We played well defensively. It's not going to get any easier. We've got Fremd on Friday and Prairie Ridge on Saturday. But this was a nice win."