Maine West gets past scrappy Schaumburg

After winning a state championship last year, Maine West's girls basketball team is realizing it has a huge target on its back this season.

The Warriors, playing their second game in as many nights Tuesday, used a late surge to pull away from Schaumburg 55-39 in the opening round of the Saxon tournament in Schaumburg.

Maine West (2-0) had to overcome a scrappy Schaumburg team and foul trouble for senior standout Angela Dugalic to post itsr 38th win in a row.

"Everybody is looking to come out and beat Maine West," Warriors coach Kim de Marigny said. "We are not the same team as last year. We have to come out every night and work hard and we understand that. We just have to respond. It comes with the territory now."

Schaumburg coach Jacqie Strauch said she liked her team's effort.

"We put Maine West on their heels," Strauch said. "We showed that we are here and ready to go this year."

Maine West showed early why it is the defending state champs.

Leading 13-10 after the first quarter, the Warriors ran off 13 unanswered points to lead 26-10 with 2:52 left in the first half.

Schaumburg (0-1) responded by closing out the quarter on an 11-6 spurt which included a halfcourt 3-pointer by Katie Smith that made it 32-21.

Maine West led 34-21 when Dugalic picked up her fourth foul with 4:28 left in the third quarter. But despite having their top player on the bench and allowing Schaumburg to get to the free throw line thanks to 7 team fouls, the Warriors didn't back down.

"We are always adjusting," said Dylan VanFleet, who finished with 15 points. "We are trying to find out the kinks. We lost some great players from last year, but we are also going to have some new great players."

Schaumburg was able to slowly chip away at the lead. With Dugalic back in the game, Schaumburg pulled to within 44-37 with 3:08 to play. Maine West then put the clamps on the Saxons, holding them scoreless from there as the Warriors scored the final 11 points.

"We are still learning," said Dugalic, who had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. "Especially with a young team. We have a lot to learn it is a work in progress."

Jaclyn Riedl, who is a freshman, came off the bench to score 11 points for Maine West while Brianna Hernandez had 6 points.

Talia Torosian led Schaumburg with 18 points including five 3-pointers. Alyssa Orozco added 11 points while Smith had 6 points,

"We played our game today which was great to see," Strauch said. "They didn't back down. We have a lot of growth still. I think they are fighters and it was exciting to be part of that."