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Girls basketball: Wood is good as Carmel opens with win

Just in case it slipped Kaytlyn Matz's mind, Jordan Wood reminded her Carmel Catholic teammate that Monday was the start of the high school girls basketball season.

Wood pointed it out to anyone in shouting distance, actually. Not that Matz needed any reminding from the amped-up freshman considering, for Matz, it would be the senior's first game in about 19 months.

"Jordan's a very outgoing person," Matz said with a smile. "When I see her in the hallways, she will be screaming, 'Game Day!' to everybody. Everybody knows it's Game Day because Jordan makes it known that it's Game Day. I think she was a good anxious."

Matz was a "good nervous" herself, she says. Her efforts and those of all her teammates resulted a good season debut for Carmel, which kicked off the Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament by pulling away from Grant in the fourth quarter to win 40-29 Monday night.

The 6-foot-4 Wood had a game-high 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 2 steals.

"I thought Jordan played fairly well," Carmel coach Ben Berg said of the 14-year-old, who already has scholarship offers from Illinois and Iowa. "I thought on both ends of the floor she did some things. Because of her length and size, she's a difference-maker."

Junior center Jazzlyn Linbo, who led Grant with 15 points and 8 rebounds, sank one of her four 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to get the Bulldogs within 25-23, but Carmel answered with a 7-0 run. Included was a putback by Wood and 3 free throws by her. She scored 11 points in the second half.

"She has a very high basketball IQ," Matz said. "She was struggling a little bit in the beginning, but she's able to figure out other ways to score. She doesn't give up, either."

Matz grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 6 points, all from the line, including 4 of 4 in the fourth. A varsity starter as a sophomore, she tore her left ACL in fall league last October, causing her to miss her entire junior campaign.

"I definitely would say I was anxious (before the game)," Matz said. "All day at school I was very ready for it because obviously it's been a very long time."

"Kaytlyn settles us a little bit," Berg said of the 6-foot forward, who brought the ball up the court a few times against Grant. "It's good to have her back."

Carmel sophomore center Grace Sullivan added 6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Emma Berg, who started in the backcourt with varsity rookie Anahi Gonzalez, scored 5 points. Rachel Blaha, another first-year varsity player, drained the Corsairs' only 3-pointer.

"We had the jitters a little bit," Berg said. "I thought we settled in a little bit more in the second half. I got to give (Grant) credit. They play hard and got some guards that really get their hands on the ball. Overall, things to build on but we need to get better."

Sophomore point guard MaCalyn Flores had 6 points and 4 steals for Grant, which played without starting guard Cora Hughs (illness).

  The ball slips away from Grant's MaCalyn Flores (10) and Carmel's Lily Coulthard (30) during Monday's Mundelein High School girls Thanksgiving basketball tournament. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Carmel's Kaytlyn Matz, right, pressures Grant's Katelyn Dupree (21) during Monday's game of the girls Thanksgiving basketball tournament at Mundelein High School. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Grant's Katelyn Dupree, left, and Jazzlyn Linbo, right, pressure Carmel's Grace O'Malley (25) she secured a rebound during Mondays girls Thanksgiving basketball tournament in Mundelein. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Grant's Miranda Rodriguez looks to pass under pressure from Carmel's Anahi Gonzalez during Monday's girls Thanksgiving basketball tournament in Mundelein. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
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