Linbo's large night paces Grant

Grant's public address announcer jokingly called Jazzlyn Linbo "7 foot 2" during starting-lineup introductions.

The Grant junior forward/center then went out and stood out like a skyscraper in a subdivision.

The 6-foot-2 Linbo dominated inside and outside and anytime she touched the basketball at the offensive end, which was plenty.

She scored a career-high 35 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked 7 shots, as Grant overcame an early deficit to beat Wheeling 63-45 in a nonconference game Monday night.

Linbo took 31 shots (also a career high), making 15, including a pair of 3-pointers. Only an uncharacteristic shooting performance from the foul line (3 of 10) prevented her from scoring 40 points.

"I've been in the gym more, shooting," said Linbo, a three-year varsity starter who has an offer from Indiana State. "I'm just getting more confident in my shot."

Linbo's 3 late in the opening quarter pulled Grant (7-4) even at 14-14, erasing its second six-point deficit. But Wheeling (2-9) took a 16-14 lead into the second quarter on a pair of free throws by Morgan Collar (8 points, 6 rebounds). Chloe Drozdz (team-high 15 points, 8 rebounds) hit two 3-pointers in the opening quarter, and teammates Sophia Stanke (10 points) and Naomi Metellus hit one each.

"They were on fire," Grant coach Kevin Geist said of the Wildcats. "We made a couple of adjustments and we didn't back down."

Linbo kept coming. When she wasn't shooting midrange jumpers and scoring inside, she was putting back misses (9 offensive boards), sometimes her own.

"She was open," Geist said of Linbo's high-shot total. "They weren't bad shots. For the most part, they were good shots."

Another 3-pointer by Linbo helped Grant take a 25-24 lead into halftime. She scored 8 points in the third - and assisted on Cora Hughs' buzzer-beating 3 that extended the Bulldogs' lead to 43-34 entering the fourth.

Linbo had the ball on the arc and dished to Hughs on the wing.

"The play was designed for (Linbo)," Geist said.

"I knew how many seconds we had on the board, so I was like, 'We got time,' " Linbo said. "Both girls collapsed on me. I saw (Hughs) open so I just passed it off."

Point guard MaCalyn Flores scored 7 of her 13 points in the third for Grant. Hughs finished with 9 points (two 3-pointers), and Kylie Whyte contributed 4 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. Linbo scored 12 points in the fourth.

"Everyone really played well," Geist said. "Our defense was much better tonight, and that's usually our key."

Barrington 60, Conant 51: It was an unusual Monday night Mid-Suburban West girls basketball game at Barrington High School but the Fillies were up to their usual winning ways for the past two weeks.

They extended their winning streak to eight straight as senior Taylor Thompson scored a game-high 17 points in a 60-51 triumph over visiting Conant.

Barrington improved to 8-4 and 3-0 in the MSL West while Conant stands at 2-7 and 0-3.

"I'm happy with that," said Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro about her team's eight-game winning streak, the longest in Thompson's four years as a starter. "But we're just trying to keep focused on the process and letting the right things happen."

Woodstock North 63, Round Lake 33: At Richmond-Burton, the Panthers (1-12) fell to 0-3 in the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic.

Amari Cole and Ariea Williams each had 10 points for Round Lake.

Senior guard Shanna Turczynski (11 points) made good things happen down the stretch when the Fillies needed them.

She sank 4-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds and pulled down her team's final 3 rebounds to help hold off the Cougars, who were led by junior Isabella Tierney's 15 points.

"I thought Shanna was exceptional down the stretch," Barreiro said. "I was really happy with the job she did."

A big 3-pointer by Chikere Oduocha tied the game at 45-45 with 7:30 left but back-to back bank shot by Thompson, off assists from Sophie Swanson (8 rebounds, 5 assists) and Michaela Goetze, made it 49-47 with 5:59 left.

Neeha Kakuturu's driving layup with 1:16 remaining made it 52-49 but that's as close as Conant would get.