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Addison Trail catches Metea Valley

And that's why they play four quarters.

The Addison Trail girls basketball team fell behind 10-2 to start its game against Metea Valley on Tuesday in the first round of the Brenda Whitesell Invitational at Hinsdale Central.

That 8-point deficit held until the second half, when the Blazers began chipping away at it, like the little engine that could.

Know what? They did. A 10-1 fourth-quarter run with under 4:12 to go allowed Addison Trail to prevail 44-41.

Here's the "Ah-ha!" moment for the Blazers. They turned the ball over 16 times in the first three quarters - but only twice in the fourth. Translation: Take care of the ball and good things will happen.

What changed?

"Myself and the coaches talked about being more poised," Addison Trail coach Cory Little said, "taking the time, relaxing, being more poised out there. We want them to have fun and enjoy the game, but poise is what controls the game.

"If you're rushing and want to make things happen quickly, we're going to turn the ball over. Once we slowed down and gathered ourselves, we were able to make the right pass, make the right skip to the shot and go from there."

Addison Trail senior guard Demi Koulogeorgas, who led all scorers with 15 points, was tough as nails down the stretch. Her layup off a lane drive with 2:48 to go gave the Blazers a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and she added to it 32 seconds later with a pair of free throws.

That gave the Blazers a 42-28 advantage. The best the Mustangs could muster in the final two minutes were three free throws.

Were there opening-night nerves for Koulogeorgas? Well …

"No, I did not, but a lot of teammates did have pregame jitters and all you can do is tell them that they'll be OK," she said, adding the 10-1 run late was due to the poise that Little mentioned.

"I think that we started to see what we were doing better and our defense started to work harder, and we were getting through on everything," she said. "The 10-1 run is because of our defense. It doesn't come from anything else."

It was a tough opening night for Metea Valley and coach Keith McIntosh, but get to know this name: Khaliah Reid. She's a freshman, and in her first varsity game she paced the Mustangs with 13 points, including a 3-pointer late in the first quarter.

But there was something even more important she brought to the game, according to McIntosh.

"A freshman was leading us," he said. "Khaliah Reid, she's a freshman and she's leading us on the court. I got seniors on this basketball team that they didn't show up tonight, I feel."

McIntosh lamented his team's 23 turnovers, most of which, he said, were unforced. That included 5 in the crucial fourth quarter, but that was balanced by the fact that the Mustangs outrebounded Addison Trail 23-13. That included 8 offensive rebounds.

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