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Riedl, Maine West pick up impressive Showcase victory

Jessica Riedl, a multiple-year all-area volleyball player for Maine West, is looking to play the sport in college.

But basketball teams who are playing the Warriors this season better be on the lookout for Riedl.

The 6-foot senior forward came off the bench to contribute 12 points and 9 rebounds in the Warriors' 60-51 triumph over Beaver Dam, the Division II defending Wisconsin girls basketball state champion.

It was the Warriors' toughest test this season as they entered Saturday's Chicagoland Showcase Invitational game at Fremd with a 7-0 record and 47.2 point average margin of victory.

They found themselves nursing a 16-15 lead when junior Rachel Kent tossed home a 3-pointer followed by sophomore Angela Dugalic's layup to make it 21-15 with 4:15 left in the second quarter.

Riedl then stepped into the picture with a back-to-back layups to make it 25-15, forcing Golden Beavers coach Tim Chase to call his first timeout.

Riedl's 10-footer with 1:25 left in the half increased the Warriors' lead to 31-18.

"She (Riedl) is really our sixth starter so I've had her on the bench a lot of time and people don't really know about her abilities," said Maine West coach Kim de Marigny. "It was nice to see her come off the bench and display the things she is able to do."

And she did in front of a showcase crowd that included a swarm of women's college basketball coaches.

"Volleyball is my thing," Riedl said. "That's what I put my whole life into. A game like this brings the best out of all our players."

It was probably Riedl's best performance on the basketball floor as the Warriors were going up against team with two Division I recruits in 5-11 junior Tara Stauffacher (Wisconsin) and 6-4 classmate Aly Van Loo (North Dakota).

The Golden Beavers' 5-10 freshman guard Maty Wilke is already earning D-I offers.

"That was our biggest challenge so far," said Maine West guard Catherine Johnson, who scored 6 points with 3 assists. "Maybe even including all of last year. I'd say they compare to Geneva (which defeated Maine West in the supersectional last year and went on to win a state championship). They have the good inside posts and as well as well as good shooters. It feels really good to defeat a team with a reputation like theirs."

The Warriors are quickly gaining the reputation as one of the top teams in Illinois.

Army recruit Alisa Fallon has shown she is one of the top players in the state. Fallon was named West's 'Player of the Game' on Saturday with her 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kent finished with 11 points and while Dugalic had 9 points and 5 rebounds. North Central recruit Allison Pearson pulled down 6 rebounds while running the Warriors' offense.

"I've seen some of Maine West's games this season and they are an exceptionally good team," said Chase, whose team (3-1) was the preseason No. 1 in Wisconsin's Division II state poll. "They have really good balance in their starting lineup. They bring some good kids off the bench.

"Alisa Fallon is a great all-around player and Rachel Kent is really a great scorer. She's kind of sneaky about it but she is really good. I thought we did a good job keeping some of their other kids from scoring."

Beaver Dam closed to within 51-47 with 5:53 left in the game but Fallon hit a big 3-pointer and Pearson followed with a layup to get the lead back up to 56-47 with less than three minutes.

"The second quarter kind of got away from us," Chase said. "We got down 10 and had some trouble with a lot of kids picking up their second fouls. But I thought our kids fought hard and we did what we could. Maine West is a great team."

Wilke and junior guard Paige Schumann led Beaver Dam with 12 points apiece.

"The key was playing defense, staying on them and always having a hand in their face," Riedl said. "They were always ready to shoot the 3s. They had quick passes and huge posts inside."

De Marigny said conditioning was the key for her team.

"After our Glenbrook South game (60-35 win on Tuesday), we felt we weren't conditioned the way we should have been so we worked on that in practice," she said. "That is something you can control so that's what we did in practice. The girls came ready to work all week and they played hard."

Chase, in his 13th season as the Golden Beavers coach, was grateful for the trip to Palatine.

"It was a great atmosphere at Fremd," he said. "Fremd did a great job. Dave Yates (Vikings coach) did an awesome job organizing the event. They were a great host and we have nothing but great things to say about this experience. Hopefully they will invite us back because if they do, we'll certainly be back.

"This a great showcase. Even the games I saw before ours were awesome. I was quite impressed by whole event."

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