advertisement

Strube scores 23 as Timothy Christian advances past Addison Trail

Ordinarily, the days off for Christmas cause Jordyn Strube to lose her shot stroke a bit.

"Usually the break isn't good," the Timothy Christian junior said.

Wednesday night at the opening day of the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic was a different story.

Strube hit five 3-pointers - including 3 in the second quarter - as she finished with a game-high 23 points in the Trojans' 51-35 girls basketball win over Addison Trail.

"I've been off lately with my shooting so I guess tonight was just an on night," Strube said. "I was relaxed so my shots were nice and relaxed. They weren't rushed, so they went in."

It helped that she had gotten some shots up on the days off. And some sibling competition helped get her rhythm back.

"Her brother (Jonny) was home from college and he plays in college so they took her and went to the gym," said Timothy Christian coach Michele Strube, Jordyn's mother. "So that might've helped."

Jordyn Strube's improved stroke showed early on in the second quarter.

She hit consecutive 3-pointers on consecutive possessions from the right wing that pushed a 14-11 lead to a 20-13 lead and caused an Addison Trail timeout.

"I fixed my form," Jordyn Strube said. "I think all of that combined just helped me with my shooting."

It was a rare defensive hiccup for the Blazers (4-6) in the first half.

Addison Trail forced 15 first-half turnovers - Andelina Carreras, Vincenza Zaccaro, Karime Martinez, Nicci Scorza and Serena Gilliam combined for 8 steals - and kept the deficit within 11 points throughout the first half.

"Just communication," Gilliam said. "We've picked it up in practice and every day we've been pushing it harder and harder at practice."

A rough shooting night didn't help Addison Trail. The Blazers were 7 of 19 from the free-throw line and hit two 3-pointers.

"We'd come down (after a turnover) and we couldn't score," Addison Trail coach Rob Schader said. "We just couldn't get it closer than (7) or 8."

Addison Trail seemed to be getting back into the game in the third quarter. The Blazers held Timothy Christian (8-5) to 8 points and forced 6 turnovers.

"I think they just came out stronger than us," Jordyn Strube said.

But in the fourth quarter the Trojans killed off the game. Timothy Christian played strong defense, holding Addison Trail scoreless on its first eight possessions and having guards Sureya Alex, Abby Carstensen and Jordyn Strube kill time on offense.

"We wanted to have more patience on our offense," Michele Strube said. "We really stress defense. It's great. When they do that, they understand that we're helping them on the court. That's all you can ask for."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.