Extra-session effort helps Carmel past Mundelein
Both teams had their chances to win, but visiting Carmel Catholic came through in overtime Tuesday night in the Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament.
The Corsairs (1-1) outscored the host Mustangs 11-2 in the extra session en route to a 52-43 victory. Mundelein (0-2) dropped its second straight heartbreaking loss to open the season.
The Mustangs had the ball with 10 seconds left in regulation and the score deadlocked at 41-41. But an off-balance 3-pointer by sophomore Morgan Frank (game-high 20 points, 6 rebounds) was off the mark at the final buzzer.
Carmel junior Shai Horton (team-high 16 points) scored on an inside basket just six seconds into overtime, before a hoop in the lane by Mundelein's Kelsy Austwick tied the game at 43-43 36 seconds later.
But that was the final field goal of the game for the Mustangs, as Carmel went on a 9-0 run in the final 2:11 of overtime to win going away.
Driving baskets by Rayna Jamison, Horton and again by Jamison boosted the lead to 49-43 with 1:21 remaining before 2 turnovers by the Mustangs moments later would put the game out of reach.
“In the end they played smart, they made good decisions with the ball, and they defended without fouling,” said Carmel coach Ben Berg, whose team led 15-8 after one quarter. “We were settling for some outside shots in the fourth quarter, but we won the game in the paint and at the free-throw line.”
A free throw by Katie Lach (7 points) and 2 free throws by Kaytlyn Matz with 31 seconds to play put the finishing touches on the victory.
Junior Brigit Barr added 9 points for the Corsairs, while Jamison finished with 8 points. Senior Hannah Buscher hit double figures for Mundelein with 12 points, as she and Frank combined for five 3-pointers in the second quarter alone.
“We really fought hard, we really brought it in overtime, and we really converted,” said Barr, whose team was 10 of 13 at the foul line to just 11 of 21 for Mundelein. “The crucial part of our offense is getting the ball to the lane and kicking it our for 3s, and we're happy with the outcome.”
The Mustangs outscored Carmel 18-8 in the second quarter to take a 26-23 halftime lead, before the Corsairs held a 36-35 lead entering what turned out to be a defensive fourth quarter.
Mundelein lost 44-43 to Highland Park on Monday night to open its season.
“The last two nights we gave ourselves an opportunity to win, and we had the ball at the end of regulation with a chance to win,” said first-year Mundelein coach Greg Dorgan. “Overtime obviously got away from us, and we really thought we could win it in regulation. We will definitely work on eliminating turnovers, especially unforced.”
Highland Park 62, Grant 57 (OT): In Tuesday night's first game at Mundelein, Grant junior Carly Burgeson (team-high 21 points) hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer to send the game to overtime tied at 49-49.
But behind Sydney Ignoffo's game-high 33 points, Highland Park won in OT to improve to 2-0 in the tournament.
Mallory Harrity also had a good offensive night with 17 points for Grant (1-1).
Glenbrook South 52, Grayslake North 30: In Tuesday's final game at Mundelein, the Titans improved to 2-0 in the tournament.
Grayslake North fell to 0-2.