Composed Conant connects in OT
When it competed at the Libertyville Christmas tournaments a few weeks ago, Conant's girls basketball team had a few games where it had difficulty with its mental approach down the stretch.
It was an area Deirdre Naughton wanted to see improved, and the third-year Conant coach got her wish on Tuesday night in Hoffman Estates.
The Cougars were focused to the end, especially at the free throw line, while claiming a 64-58 overtime win against visiting Prospect in the Mid-Suburban League crossover.
Trailing 54-53 with under 1:30 left in OT, senior Michelle Benson made four straight free throws to lift the Cougars to a 57-54 lead.
Her classmate Jorie Wachal (game-high 33 points) then converted a pair at the line for a 59-54 advantage with 51.2 seconds left, and the Knights never recovered.
In all, Conant made 11-of-14 free throws in the OT - including 6-of-6 from Benson, who had 2 points going into the extra session.
"I definitely felt pressure (going to the line in OT) but we practice them a lot so I was pretty confident up there," Benson said. "Our practice showed in this game."
The Cougars made 22 of 28 in the game and improved to 7-9 while Prospect now stands at 8-9.
Junior guard Emily Frasco poured home 25 points to lead the Knights, who led by as much as 18-11 early in the second quarter when junior Margherite Pettenuzzo (7 points, including a 3-pointer) made a fastbreak layup.
The hosts got the deficit down to 25-22 at half and trailed 38-35 after three quarters.
Wachal scored 18 of her points in the second half, including the driving 8-footer in the lane which tied the game at 53-53 with ten seconds left in regulation.
Prospect guard Kendra Gancarz came up a huge 3-point play that gave the visitors the 53-51 lead with 20.8 seconds left.
And it was a free throw by Gancarz that gave Prospect a 54-53 lead in OT before Benson started the Cougars on their 6-0 run.
Gancarz (12 points) also spent time defending Wachal, one of the top scorers in the area who netted a career-high 40 points as a junior against Oswego.
"She (Gancarz) did a very good job," said Wachal, praising the fellow senior. "Michelle (Benson) was clutch with those free throws in overtime. They really changed the momentum for us."
It was the Cougars' second overtime win of the season. They earlier defeated Schaumburg 47-45.
"I was so proud of the girls' mental toughness," Naughton said. "We had some games where we lacked that down the stretch at the Libertyville tournament. And being mentally tough is why we won this game tonight. Even when we were down, the girls did not think we going to lose.
"Our senior leadership from Jorie (Wachal), Michelle (Benson) and Brittany (Laskero) was incredible."
Laskero came up huge at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-4 and finishing with 6 points.
Junior Taylor Cyr (7 points) had two big 3-pointers in the game while Benson and junior Ania Baker, who left game with apparent ankle injury early in the fourth quarter, both chipped in 8 points.
Sophomore Mandy Withey was strong on the boards as usual with 10 rebounds while also chipping in 6 points for Prospect.
"Kendra (Gancarz) played really well and Emily (Frasco) had a great game," said Knights coach Gabrielle Lovin. "We've just got to play as one. You're not going to win too many games when someone scores 33 points on you. We let certain things get in our head and affect us. It was a very competitive game."
The Cougars have won five of their last seven games.
"I knew this team would peak later in the season," said Naughton, whose club started out 2-7. "There are a lot of newbies this season. It doesn't matter how you start. You just have to improve down the stretch of the season."