Glenbard South defeats Elk Grove for Wheaton North championship
Junior guard Lauren Cohen and her Glenbard South girls basketball teammates started a new tradition at Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic and continued a recent one.
Before the Raiders' first game Monday, the classroom for the preame meeting included a whiteboard that they used for the first time.
"We decided to write our goals on the board because we saw a team before us do it," Cohen said. "Our coach laughs about it but it's really what we focus on in the game."
The Raiders used those key words and phrases to continue their unprecedented recent success. On Saturday they defeated Elk Grove 39-30 to win the 16-team Classic for the second time in three seasons.
Cohen and senior guard Rocky LaPonte were key reserves when the Raiders (11-3) won in 2017.
This time Cohen was named the Most Outstanding Player.
"It's awesome. It's wonderful having that feeling. I think it should be a team award. We all worked so hard for this tournament," Cohen said.
"Two years ago, just winning it once was a huge deal for our program and then winning it this year, losing some key players, is really a big boost for us."
Cohen scored 12 points Saturday. LaPonte had arguably her best offensive game with a season-high 21 points that included five 3s and 7-for-12 shooting.
The No. 7-seeded Raiders only led 23-20 entering the fourth quarter but built it to 28-20 on their first two possessions with an inside basket from Cohen and a LaPonte 3-pointer following three missed shots.
No. 8-seeded Elk Grove (10-6) achieved its highest Classic finish ever after taking third in 2009. The Grenadiers closed to 31-28 with 3:49 left, but the Raiders scored the next 6 points on free throws.
"The thing that I'm most proud of is I think we grew for our season against some really good competition really close to us and we were able to pull it out," Glenbard South coach Morgan Eufrasio said.
"The biggest thing (defensively) is we get the kids believing it and when you believe you are a great defensive team you are a great defensive team. We drill it like nobody's business."
Elk Grove senior Megan Murray and sophomore Lili Duckmann were named all-tournament. Duckmann and Murray had 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Olivia Masnica had 5 rebounds.
Masnica's three-point play brought the Grenadiers to within 3, but they went scoreless their next six possessions with five missed shots.
Elk Grove finished the game 10-for-34 shooting with a Murray 3.
"This is the first time we've ever been in the championship game (here). To come out 3-1, we're really excited about it," Elk Grove coach Jennifer Buxton said.
"We definitely could have shot a little better. Our rotation could have been better. They did a good job taking us out of our (faster) tempo game that we like to play. They're a nice, disciplined team and they had some nice shooters."
Cohen and LaPonte have formed quite a formidable duo that complemented graduated all-stater Maggie Bair's inside game during last season's second-place Class 3A finish.
Also stepping up big Saturday were Alex Wilharm with 8 rebounds and Gianna Coluzzi, who had 6 points, 6 rebounds and defended Duckmann, a guard.
"We kind of rely on our defense to make stops at the end of big games like that and just to try and hold the ball," LaPonte said. "We've been just been coming along and this tournament we really played as a team and just connected well."
The Grenadiers also appear to be hitting stride as they prepare for the second half of Mid-Suburban League play. Saturday's loss snapped a five-game winning streak, including their season-best victory over top-seeded Downers Grove North in Thursday's quarterfinals.
When Murray was on varsity as a freshman, Elk Grove was winless at Wheaton North.
"It's exciting to see how far we've grown in the four years I've been here, seeing how much we've changed," Murray said. "I would have never expected any other Elk Grove team that I've been on to beat the No. 1 seed. It was very exciting."