Lake Park responds to St. Viator rally

A little more than a month ago, Lake Park's girls basketball team was going to have the holidays off.

But thanks to an unexpected opening in the Blenner Classic, the Lancers were invited to St. Viator's 36th annual eight-team event.

"We needed a team and this was a great pickup for our tournament," said Lions coach Jason Raymond.

And what a great game the two teams played on Friday night.

Trailing 18-4, St. Viator rallied and actually led four times in the final 12 minutes before the Lancers pulled out a 57-55 triumph behind junior standout Darrione Rogers' 26 points.

The Lions (12-5) just missed the winning point when a 3-pointer barely missed off the rim in the final second.

After a missed free throw with 5.6 seconds left, Bridget DeZellar grabbed the big rebound that led the game's final shot.

"We knew going in this was going to be a battle," said Lake Park coach Brian Rupp whose team is 12-2 with losses to Wheaton North and St. Charles North. "(The Lions) got the open look they wanted at the end. We are just fortunate it didn't go in."

Plenty of shots and free throws were going in for Rogers, a DePaul recruit who hit for 49 points earlier this season.

"The thing that impresses most about her is that she gets the best defender, some times two or three, from the other team," Rupp said. "People are all around her but she keeps her cool. She has grinded out more 20-point games than I've ever seen from a high school girl."

"She is a handful," Raymond said. "There is a reason she is going to DePaul."

Rogers had 10 of the Lancers 22 points in the first quarter.

"Then (the Lions) started hitting big 3s," Rogers said. "We didn't guard the corner that well, but we had to adapt to it, play our game and pick up our defense."

Sophomore Emma Anna Morrissey had three 3-pointers for the Lions in the first half. Joy Bergstrom led St. Viator with 17 points and Nora Ahram added 14 with a 3-pointer.

Peyton McDonnell collected 6 points and some big rebounds.

"We just kept pushing," Bergstrom said. "We didn't get it done tonight but we'll come back (Saturday in second-place game vs. Plainfield North at 5:30 p.m.).

The Lancers come back in the championship game against Zion-Benton at 7 p.m.

Other top scorers for Lake Park were junior Brayana Walker (11 points), senior Casey Darre (9) and sophomore Emma Thorne (8), who scored two buckets in the game's first 30 seconds for a 4-0 lead.

Senior Kate Kirkham had big steal off an inbounds pass with 9.9 seconds left for Lake Park.

"That was an unbelievable steal at the end," Rupp said. "She got after that ball. She has been doing that for four years. She has a knack for that."

Rogers and the Lancers were grateful they weren't vacationing for the holidays.

"It (entering the St. Viator tourney) was a last-minute thing and we decided to take it," Rogers said. "We wanted to sustain the momentum we had from our start to the season."

The Lions gained their momentum after falling behind.

"We didn't do ourselves any favors by digging a 14-point hole," Raymond said. "I definitely don't think we ran out of gas at the end, I think it was just a case of inconsistencies.

"We had too many turnovers (16) and a lot of them led to baskets.

"But the girls battled. We were out there playing with a young squad and these are experiences they've never had before. They will only help us."