Antioch extends great start with win over Vernon Hills
Having packed seven games into the first two weeks of the season, and having won them all, Antioch's girls basketball players earned themselves an easy practice.
Wednesday, they're scheduled to do only some light shooting and stretching for about an hour.
"I'd like to say I'm not tired," point guard Ashley Reiser said. "But I am."
Reiser stressed, however, that it's been all fun for the Sequoits. Antioch's 60-45 win over visiting Vernon Hills in the teams' North Suburban Conference Prairie Division opener Tuesday night continued the Sequoits' torrid start to the season. They started 3-2 last season en route to a 30-4 campaign.
Amy Reiser poured in a game-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and also grabbed 8 rebounds, while Niles North tournament MVP Ashley Reiser scored 12 points and dished out 13 assists. Maddy Murillo came off the bench to add 10 points for Antioch.
Amy Reiser welcomes some physical rest.
"I love the game, so I usually don't get (tired) mentally," she said. "It's a fun break compared to homework and school."
Freshman post Kayla Caudle led Vernon Hills (4-2) with 14 points and 7 rebounds. She's scored in double figures in all but one game.
"She's doing great," Cougars coach Paul Brettner said. "She's getting the shots. At this point, that's great."
The last time Antioch played at home against the Cougars - in early February of last season - the visitors pulled off a 68-43 upset.
"Yeah, I would say we wanted to get - not revenge - redemption," Ashley Reiser said.
Antioch trailed 4-2 before the first of Ashley Reiser's four 3-pointers started a 10-0 run, which she capped with another basket from beyond the arc. The Sequoits' lead was 16-9 after one quarter and 33-23 at halftime, despite the Cougars getting 3-pointers from Becky Bahlmann, Danielle Comitor and Emma Pappano.
"They shot a lot of 3s and were getting a lot of rebounds in the first half, and that kept them in the game," Antioch coach Tim Borries said. "We talked about controlling the boards."
After Kelly Johnson (6 points) scored in the low post to hike the Sequoits' lead to 39-29 with 3:35 left in the third quarter, Borries immediately called a timeout. The coach wanted to talk defense.
"I said, 'Let's get 2-3 more stops,' " Borries said. "If we get 2-3 more scores, that (advantage of) 10 can turn into 16, 18, 20 points."
Antioch didn't allow another point the rest of the quarter, while getting a putback from Erika Gallimore (6 points), layup from Amy Reiser and free throw from Alexis Duehr to take a 44-29 advantage into the fourth. The advantage swelled to as many as 23 points in the final quarter.
Bahlmann finished with 5 points and 12 boards for Vernon Hills, which has three freshmen on its roster.
"Inconsistent," Brettner said of his team's early-season play. "Which is a little bit of inexperience, learning new roles and trying to find kids who are going to do things at both ends of the floor consistently. We're going to get there. It's just that we're in that mode right now."