Steady ICCP takes win from Westmont
Patience and balance.
That was what mattered most for the IC Catholic Prep girls basketball team Friday in its 42-30 season-opening win over Westmont.
Patience, because the first half didn't go exactly as planned. The Knights were working to shake the off-season rust loose, while Westmont senior forward Sydney Pardy was grabbing 12 rebounds en route to 17 total.
In the second half patience was necessary in another facet because Westmont dropped into a 2-3 zone that required a lot of ICCP passing on offense before taking - and usually making - a high-percentage shot.
And balance? Take a look at the score sheet - Knights coach Kelsey James suited up nine players, seven of whom scored. The Knights were led by senior forward Kiersten King's 10 points.
"Patience is our biggest thing, obviously," James said. "We struggle because they are so excited because they all want to score, but that's one of the things we talked about. It's OK to make them work for five minutes on defense if we have to, to find a good shot."
Meanwhile, King did yeoman's work in the second half to limit the athletic Pardy to just 4 points. That forced the Sentinels to look elsewhere for scoring, but the best they could get was 7 in the fourth quarter from freshman forward Megan Thompson.
"She was good all around and outside," King said of Pardy, "so it was kind of hard to adjust our defense. In the second half we got together and figured out what we needed to do. I think we figured out communication is the biggest thing."
After a lackluster first half, the Knights looked markedly different in the second, putting together a 10-2 third quarter-long run, despite Westmont's zone. Doing the most damage was King, a transfer from Wheaton Warrenville South, who had 6 points, including a jumper from the right side at 2:03 that gave ICCP its first lead of the night.
ICCP never relinquished the lead, getting a 6-0 spurt midway through the fourth quarter to build a 33-23 advantage that put the game away.
"It's a motivational thing for our girls to see that they won without playing great," James said. "So if they put it all together, there is really nothing that can hold them back."
Sophomore Gabi Zanoni added 8 points for ICCP, while senior guard Sophie Zanoni chipped in 7. The Knights shot 36 percent, but Westmont didn't fare much better, coming in at 35 percent.
The 5-foot-10 Pardy led the Sentinels with 11 points. Senior guard Kaitlyn Neimer added 8 but was lost to a knee injury with 25 seconds left in the first half.
"I just try and do the best I can for the team, get in there as much as I can to start our offense," Pardy said. "We have a variety of players at different levels, so we have to be able to slow down our offense, and getting rebounds to hold it."