Resurrection runs past Elk Grove in second half
Coming off a tough Friday night loss to Hersey, and traveling to Chicago less than 24 hours later, proved to be too tough a task for Elk Grove's young girls basketball team on Saturday.
The Grenadiers still made things interesting for more than a half before host Resurrection was able to pull away in the final 14 minutes.
Led by 19 points from senior guard Veronica Kieres and a career-high 18 from classmate Mary Quinn, the Bandits raised their record to 8-4 with a 58-38 win in the nonconference game.
"They had some height on us," said 5-foot-7 Quinn. "But we watched a lot of film on them I I think we were prepared in the second half. My goal every game is to get open on the fastbreak, and I believe our team speed was able to get us past them."
"Mary has been playing really well," said second-year Bandits coach Jon Palicki, who was a two-year assistant in the St. Viator program before taking over at Resurrection. "She is an unreal real athlete. She is also a cross-country runner and jumper in track and field."
The Bandits jumped in front 4-0 on layups from Kieres and Quinn but Elk Grove never let the lead increase in the first quarter.
Sophomore Megan Murray made a nice pass inside to junior Rachel Kandefer, who converted the layup to tie the game at 9-9.
Junior Gabriella O'Hehir, who came off the bench and scored 10 points, hit a 3-pointer to give Resurrection its biggest lead of the first half at 21-13.
"Gabriella had three or four offensive rebounds and that was excellent to set the tone," Palicki said.
The Grens (6-7) answered with a 3-pointer from freshman Isabella Tierney and stayed within striking distance until midway through the third quarter.
Tierney led the visitors with 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
"She had a good game," said Elk Grove coach Jen Guth. "She was able to put the ball in the basket and when you are having a hard time doing that like were, those points from Isabella meant a lot."
The Grens looked ready to make a move at the start of the second half when Kandefer batted away a Bandits shot to a teammate.
Kandefer then converted a free throw, and moments later Murray took a rebound and went coast to coast for a layup that got the Grens to within 28-25.
But that's as close as EG could get.
The Bandits went on a 7-0 run for a 10-point lead and grabbed a 40-29 cushion after three quarters.
"It started with defense," Palicki said. "We gave up only 38 points, 16 in the second half. That's amazing defense and execution down the stretch."
Murray finished with 9 points while Kandefer had 6. Teammates Emma Simmons, Alyssa Trausch, Madilyn Kordis and Bailey Smola each chipped in baskets.
"Elk Grove is a tough team," Palicki added. "She (Guth) is really rebuilding. They have a lot of lot of young kids. A couple of years down the road they're going to be great."
"It was very tough," Guth said. "We had an emotional game Friday, playing a really good three quarters and finishing the way we did (53-45 loss to the defending MSL champs). So we were hoping to bounce back.
"We had some people ill and dealing with stuff, and we've got finals next week. A lot of things are going on. It's kind of an emotional time but the girls played hard all the time. It's just a matter of the focus being there, and today it wasn't. We are a young team but the girls are learning from each experience. They just want to get better with each game."