Elk Grove comes back to beat Vernon Hills
Trailing host Vernon Hills 31-23 early in the second half, Elk Grove needed to find a spark Wednesday night at the 11th Annual Cougar Classic girls basketball tournament.
And the Grenadiers wound up getting just that from a lot of different players as a great defensive effort allowed them to outscore Vernon Hills 13-7 in the third quarter to deadlock the score at 36-36 entering the final period.
Tied at 42-42, Elk Grove sophomore Hannah Gryzik hit a huge 3-pointer to give the Grenadiers a 45-42 lead with 1:05 to play before they were able to seal an exciting 47-42 victory at the free-throw line in the final 38.4 seconds of the contest.
Vernon Hills fell to 0-2 in the early stages of the 2019-20 season while Elk Grove's record improved to 2-0 heading into its next game on Saturday.
Gryzik had a game-high 14 points, including three 3-pointers while teammates Megan Murray (6 assists, 6 steals), and Lili Duckmann also reached double figures with 10 points each.
"We didn't shoot the ball as well in the first half, and we were out of control with our passing," said Elk Grove coach Jennifer Buxton, whose team forced 6 turnovers by the Cougars in the fourth quarter. "We did a better job controlling the ball in the second half, we hit some big shots, and Alyssa (Trausch) got some big rebounds to keep them to one and done."
Vernon Hills had a chance to tie the game late, but missed 3-pointers by Kylie Bunning (9 points), Alexa Cieslinski, and Emmy Woodrow in the final 45 seconds allowed the Grens to hold on for the win.
Junior Daniella Jarrell led Vernon Hills with 12 points while Trausch had 9 points and 7 rebounds for Elk Grove. Gryzik had 4 steals for the Grenadiers.
"We finished the second quarter the way a team should, but they closed that gap quickly," said Vernon Hills coach Paul Brettner, whose team led 29-23 at halftime. "Just a lot of little things hurt us, but credit to Elk Grove, they made some big shots, and they played well."
After having four players in double figures scoring in their tough season-opening win against Sycamore on Monday, Elk Grove once again had some balanced scoring against the Cougars.
"We had better communication on defense, and I was proud of our fight again," said Buxton, whose team hauled down 31 rebounds overall.
"Hannah (Gryzik) is a sophomore on varsity, she plays with no fear, and that's something she will continue to grow each game with more experience."
Elk Grove was able to capture the victory despite only shooting 7-for-21 from the free-throw line while Vernon Hills hit 9-for-14 from the line.
"She (Jarrell) had a really nice game," added Brettner, whose team plays Antioch on Saturday morning. "And we're expecting her to have a great season."