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Maine West's defense stifles St. Viator

For Maine West senior point guard Lena Albo, playing defense is elementary.

Hoping to be one day be an elementary school teacher, Albo makes defensive scheming look easy when the Warriors are throwing a variety of looks at their opponents.

The Class 4A No. 2 girls basketball team in the state did not allow a 2-point field goal in the first half en route to a 62-28 nonconference win over host St. Viator on Monday night at the Cahill Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

West (21-3) cruised to a 32-10 lead at intermission, limiting the Lions (7-13) to a pair of 3-pointers by junior Aubrey Horbach and 4 free throws by sophomore Joy Bergstrom.

Meanwhile the visitor's offense was being led McDonald 's All-American Angela Dugalic, who scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first 16 minutes.

Albo may not have scored but her presence on the floor was invaluable when it came to Warriors switching on the fly from zone defenses to traps to man-to-man.

"Lena does a lot to direct everyone," said Maine West coach Kim de Marigny. "There can always confusion with players, especially when they're not used to being in these situations so the point guard has to be the brains behind the operation.

"Lena tells the other people what to do, where to go. She directs the show. That's her job and she does it well."

One day, Albo would like to be doing it as a coach herself.

In fact, this spring she plans to coach an AAU eighth-grade team.

"One of the jobs of the point guard is to make sure everyone is in their spot," said Albo (3 steals), who is considering furthering her education at Illinois or Loyola. "So a lot of it is hearing Coach D and echoing what she is saying.

"When we hear her and see someone out of place, we just communicate with each other and that's a big part of the game."

Dugalic was a big part of the boards on Monday, grabbing 15 (5 offensive putbacks) along with a game-high 24 points and 1 block.

Senior guard Dylan Van Fleet had her usual all-around superb game, putting up 16 points with 6 steals while junior Jane Rothweiler chipped in 5 points with a pair of assists.

St. Viator actually led 5-4 with 6:23 left when West closed the first quarter with a 9-0 run, getting 3 buckets from Dugalic, one by freshman Jaclyn Riedl and a free throw from Brianna Hernandez.

The run extended to 24-0 in the second quarter.

"They're (Maine West) excellent," said Lions coach Jason Raymond. "They're very aggressive, and a physically strong defensive team. They come out and press, then they switch it up to half court. They just do a great job pressuring the ball with their strength and then you have shot blocking at the back with Dugalic."

Horbach (11 points, 3 rebounds) and Bergstrom (7 points, 6 rebounds) led Viator.

"At times I thought we showed some fight," Raymond added. "We had some spurts where we played some good basketball at the defensive end but they just wear you down.

"They're a great team. There's a reason they are defending state champions."

de Marigny was able to sub freely for most of the second half.

"We have a bench that we really have to start incorporating so were trying to work on that," she said. "Angela Ocampo (junior) really steps up when she comes in. She really has good instincts for the game. She plays smart and we'll be using her in the future for sure.

"Brianna Hernandez (junior) and Melissa Gomez (senior) stepped up and played nice defense. We're learning to play and use more than our starting five."

The Warriors' coach had plenty of respect for St. Viator, which has the state's No. 1 Class 4A team, Benet, on its strong schedule in a few weeks.

"They can score points," de Marigny said of the Lions. "They're young so they're going to be really good in the future.

" (Bergstrom) is a very nice player. She's a sophomore so she has a lot of time in front of her to make her mark, and she will. She is fabulous shooter."

  Maine West's Angela Dugalic splits St. Viator's defense for the shot in girls varsity basketball at St. Viator on Monday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's Dylan VanFleet strips the ball away from St. Viator's Joy Bergstrom and takes it down court for the score in girls varsity basketball at St. Viator on Monday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's Angela Dugalic puts points on the board despite heavy pressure from St. Viator's defense in girls varsity basketball at St. Viator on Monday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's Jane Rothweiler tries to block St. Viator's Joy Bergstrom as she eyes the basket in girls varsity basketball at St. Viator on Monday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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