Rolling Meadows has easy time with Schaumburg

Rolling Meadows girls basketball coach Ryan Kirkorsky and assistant Nick Nichols felt the Mustangs enjoyed their season's best day of practice on Monday.

And you know what they say - practice makes perfect.

Well, Meadows was almost perfect in the first half in Tuesday's Mid-Suburban League crossover at Schaumburg.

The Mustangs rolled to a 29-1 lead at intermission en route to a 50-17 triumph.

"We definitely have had some struggles early in the season, so it kind of opened our eyes, especially those of our younger kids, to how we have to practice," Kirkorsky said.

"I think the kids felt good and the coaches felt good coming into today after having a good practice the day before."

Senior Bridget Rolla felt good just being on the floor as she returned for her first start since an ankle injury in the second quarter of the Mustangs' season opener two week ago.

"We've got to keep the intensity up in practice," Rolla said. "And make it carry over into games like we did tonight."

Three-pointers helped carry the Mustangs' offense in the first half as they connected for five, including a pair from Sam Elenz (8 points) who also got the job done on the other end of the floor.

"Sam Elenz set the tone for us defensively," Kirkorsky said. "And offensively I thought we took care of the ball and we made the right plays all the time. A lot of that can be attributed to Bridget being back on the court. She brings a level of maturity and composure that we were missing for a few games."

Madi Niedbala wasn't missing many shots as the junior guard tossed in a game-high 16 points, including three 3-pointers.

"I think if we practice hard it translates to the game and that's why we were very successful today," said Niedbala who was coming of an 18-point game against Martin Luther High School School (WI) on Saturday in Wisconsin.

Other top scorers for Meadows (3-3) were Susannah Holifield (6 points), Kelsey Campbell (6) and Alison Sellegren (6).

Senior Talia Torosian's free throw with 9.8 seconds left in the first quarter was the Saxons' only first-half point.

"They were hitting all their shots and we weren't hitting ours," said the senior guard, also a standout on the softball team.

The Saxons (2-4) got their first basket in the first minute of the second half.

Sophomore Alyssa Orozco drove for an 8-footer, which would be her first of four second-half baskets, including a 3-pointer which gave her 9 points for the game. Teammate Emma Raupp also connected for a 3-pointer.

"You can't win scoring 17 points in a game," said Schaumburg coach Jacqie Strauch. "We did have some looks in the first half but we also gave up wide open 3s.

"It got better in the second as we adjusted a little on defense but the first half killed. It was hard to chip our way back into the game after getting only 1 point in the first half."

In all, Meadows had eight 3-pointers.

"I though our kids were prepared, followed the game plan and worked really hard," Kirkorsky said."

"We've been trying to set the pace early against our opponents," Rolla said. "Once we set that pace, we can control the game from the start."

That particular mission was certainly accomplished on Tuesday.