Late rally lifts Dundee-Crown over St. Viator
It was a great way to start the 2019-2020 campaign for the Dundee-Crown girls basketball team.
But it wasn't easy.
The Chargers needed a 10-3 run in the last two minutes to pull out a 57-55 win over St. Viator in first round action at the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving tournament Tuesday night in Carpentersville.
"We think we are a great team and great teams find a way to win," said Dundee-Crown coach Sarah Miller. "It was ugly at times but we made enough plays down the stretch to get the win. We wanted to play a good team like St. Viator in the first game and to see where we are at as a program. We have a veteran team and we kept our poise. It was a good way to start the season."
After a driving layup by Nora Ahram the visiting Lions had a 52-47 lead with two minutes remaining.
Juniors Alyssa Crenshaw and Gianine Boado spearheaded the comeback with 4 points each. Emily Oldham also connected on 2 crucial free throws during the game-ending run.
Crenshaw, who scored 10 points with 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, had a putback with 42 seconds left which proved to be the game-winning points.
"I just try to help the team," said Crenshaw. "My teammates are part of my success. We really set the team culture in the summer. We are ready for a great season as a team."
Boado added 11 points and Makyala Gotter came off the bench to score 11 points with 7 rebounds.
"Makayla played some last season but she will play a bigger role this season," said Miller. "She did a great job and gave us a spark."
The Chargers also got contributions off the bench from Alaina Azar, Arysia Harris (4 points), Hannah Koehlert, Oldham (2 free throws) and Erica Sanchez.
"We stressed all summer that we wanted to be 11 deep and have 11 players who can contribute," said Miller. "We were in some foul trouble so we played some kids more minutes that usual. I like our bench. Any of them can come in and help us win.
The Lions (1-0) got an outstanding effort from sophomore Joy Bergstrom who scored 27 with 16 points during the first half with 3 treys.
"Joy had an outstanding game and she attacked the basket the whole game," said Lions coach Jason Raymond. "She had an outstanding freshman season but she has improved her game even more this season."
Ahram added 14 points for St. Viator including 8 in the fourth quarter with a 3.
"I thought for a first game we played very well," said Raymond. "We have a lot of youth on the team and we will be growing and getting better every game. We had too many turnovers. So we have to slow down and play better."