Garrelts, Marian Central gather tourney title at Grant
Ever since Wisconsin offered her a basketball scholarship the summer after her freshman year at Marian Central, Vannessa Garrelts has been picking up accolades.
The senior guard snagged another Saturday night.
Garrelts scored 27 points and hustled for 8 rebounds, as Marian Central pulled away from Grant to capture a 60-34 win in the championship game of the Grant Holiday Tournament. She earned tournament MVP honors and with it a small trophy of a sculpted basketball perched on a pedestal.
"It's one of my favorite ones, for sure," said Garrelts, who signed with Miami of Ohio before the season. "And it's heavier than what you'd think."
Garrelts stands only 5 feet 4 but was a load for Grant (10-4, 3-1 tourney), which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. The Bulldogs, who never led, were actually within 35-29 after a drive by Ally Mahinay midway through the third quarter. But Garrelts drained a step-back 3-pointer, split a pair of free throws and converted a three-point play. In less than two minutes, Grant went from trailing by 6 to trailing by 12.
"It was a competitive game," Garrelts said. "We knew it was going to be a physical game. They're a big team. In the beginning we weren't really setting up our offense. (Grant) got us sped up and that really got us out of our offense."
The Bulldogs never got within single digits after Garrelts' offensive outburst.
"She is a very good ballhandler," said Mahinay, who led Grant with 14 points and 6 steals. "She knows where to be and when to be there. She's always seeing a pass ahead. She's a good player, and it's good to play against someone like that."
Grant tried unsuccessfully to disrupt Garrelts and keep her on her left hand, Bulldogs coach Kevin Geist said. Mahinay, Mercedes Uribe and Roxanne Temple all took turns guarding her.
Garrelts opened the game with a long 3-pointer and later hit another shot from nearly 10 feet beyond the arc. She also scored on explosive drives and scoop shots.
"She's awesome," Geist said. "She made one from the volleyball line. Any time we gave her any sort of room, she nailed it."
Grant had beaten its first three opponents in the tournament - Mundelein, North Chicago and Waukegan - all by double digits and by a combined 67 points.
"Watching them play all week, we knew it was going to be a tough game," Marian Central coach Tony Powe said after his team improved to 12-6 (4-0 tourney). "They're quick, they're disciplined, and they got some size down around the basket. It was a good team win."
Marian Central went 18 of 19 from the free-throw line, including 10 of 10 in the final quarter. The Hurricanes scored 18 of the 21 points in the fourth, as Grant got only a 3-pointer from Uribe (8 points, two 3s).
"This is the game we were definitely looking forward to," Mahinay said. "We were watching them all week because they played before us (5:30 p.m. game). We knew they were tough competition and that it would be a very different game than the games we had all week."
Marian Central provided Grant a far different challenge, and not just Garrelts. The Hurricanes also placed junior guard Amber Reynolds (7 points), sophomore forward Lindsey Bahl (8 points) and 6-2 sophomore center Janelle Allen (6 points) on the all-tournament team. Junior guard Regan Dineen (6 points, 8 rebounds) also had a strong tourney, Powe said.
Mahinay, Uribe and Mallory Harrity represented Grant on the all-tournament team.
"I just think we didn't settle down (in the second half)," Geist said. "We took some forced shots, we couldn't make our free throws, and they made every free throw that they took."