South Elgin continues strong start, tops Crystal Lake South
The alarm clocks went off early for South Elgin Saturday.
Returning to the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving tournament a little over 12 hours after an emotional win over St. Viator, the Storm got off to a hot start on their way to a 39-31 victory over Crystal Lake South.
The win keeps South Elgin (3-0) undefeated heading into its tournament finale Tuesday against host Dundee-Crown.
Senior Megan McClure led the Storm with 20 points, moving within 29 of 1,000 in her career.
"We fought really hard last night and to come back early in the morning, we were able to keep up that same energy and start off strong," McClure said. "We're still kind of pumped up from the win last night. We're still excited and that overpowered if we are sleepy or not. We used that energy to keep this going."
McClure was one of four players - along with Aryanna Williams, Madison Waichunas and Ella Winterhalder - to hit a 3-pointer in the opening quarter as the Storm built a 16-2 lead.
Crystal Lake South (1-2) looked to be in deep trouble at that point. But the Gators outscored the Storm 12-8 in the second quarter and 29-23 over the final three quarters.
While the early hole was too much to dig out of, Gators coach Mark Mucha liked the way his team responded.
"Defensively we didn't communicate well which led to a lot of those open 3s," Mucha said. "We talked much better in the second quarter and second half. And South Elgin is intense, they are strong kids, their pressure bothered us.
"Not an ideal way to start but give our kids credit for clawing back. They stayed positive and worked hard all the way to the end of the fourth."
Brooke Kuffel helped the Gators get back in the game with a basket and two free throws in the second quarter, and Maddie Scharrenberg came off the bench to score 5 points to cut the Storm's led to 24-14 at halftime.
McClure hit another 3 in the third quarter, one of her five in the game, and those long-range shots opened up several backdoor cuts. South Elgin pushed its lead back to 37-22 in the fourth quarter before the Gators closed the game on a 9-2 run.
"Coach always says once you start making 3s they are going to jump the passes so if you fake it the back door is right there," McClure said. "I'm really thankful Caroline (Croft) was able to see that back door a couple times and Ella (Winterhalder) had a pass too."
Despite starting five guards, the Storm battled to a 26-26 draw on the boards. McClure topped South Elgin with 9 rebounds and Williams grabbed 6. Kuffel pulled down 8 for the Gators.
Scharrenberg paced the Gators with 7 points and Allison Schoen scored 6.
The Storm will try to complete a perfect tournament against Dundee-Crown.
"Tuesday should be a lot of fun," Storm coach Dan Mandernack said. "These are experiences that helped us last year win the regional title. To get a win today coming off an emotional grind last night speaks volumes for the girls."