Maine West rolls into Komaromy Classic semis

Forget, for a moment, Rachel Kent's 28 points in Maine West's girls basketball team's 73-37 win over Trinity Thursday night at the Komaromy Classic at Dundee-Crown.

It's the intangibles the senior brings to the team that have it off to a 16-0 start with that win and a spot in the semifinals Friday night against a solid Rockton Hononegah team.

"When your hardest worker is your best player, good things happen," said a delighted Warriors coach Kim de Marigny of Kent after the game.

It showed from the get-go Thursday night.

Kent hit a 3-pointer and then a fast-break layup to get the Warriors off to a fast start and keyed the defensive effort that generated 13 Trinity turnovers in the first half. Maine West had a 43-11 lead by then. Don't think de Marigny hasn't taken notice of the Kent effect.

"We really want all of our players to come into the game with intensity," said the head coach. And they did. The bench contributed 18 points, including a 3-pointer from Yessinia Vilchis and 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers from "sixth man" Jocelyn Jacob.

Throw in 13 points and the playmaking floor game of point guard Dylan VanFleet and de Marigny has a complete package that delivered a great performance, although the two-time defending tournament champion Warriors, the state's top-ranked Class 4A team, are sure to be tested by Hononegah and Jordan King, who had 30 in the Indians' quarterfinal win over Maine South.

But Kent thinks she has finger on the coach's straightforward formula.

"She just tells us to play hard all the time," Kent stated simply, before getting more specific about her team's success. "I just think we have to keep playing as a team, get the system down. When you play hard, it brings out the best things that can happen for your team."

Or, as de Marigny says of Kent: "You have never seen a player with so much intensity. She is relentless."