McAuley's 'D' is mighty vs. Hawks

Hillcrest's Shannise Heady grabs a loose ball against Mother McAuley.
(Matt Marton/SouthtownStar)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Mother McAuley allowed just two points in a momentum-changing second quarter and rolled to a 59-41 upset of No. 13 Hillcrest in a nonconference game Saturday in Country Club Hills.

Meggan Sterk poured in a career-high 22 points to lead the No. 16 Mighty Macs (14-4). Lauren Kleist added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Uniquah Hampton paced Hillcrest (13-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

‘‘I think we (proved ourselves),’’ Mother McAuley coach Karen Ade said. ‘‘This is the time of the year when teams either get tired or take it up a notch, and we’re looking to step it up.’’

Mother McAuley struggled early against Hillcrest’s fast, aggressive defense, scoring just three points in the first seven minutes of the game and turning the ball over on six straight possessions during one particularly rough stretch.

But after trailing 13-8 at the end of the first quarter, the Mighty Macs flexed some defensive muscles of their own.

Hillcrest failed to score in the second quarter until Juanita Robinson’s free throws with 30 seconds left before the break. The totals for the Hawks in the quarter: 0-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-8 from the free-throw line and 11 turnovers.

Sterk, meanwhile, scored five points in the frame, including a buzzer-beater that sent Mother McAuley into the locker room with a 22-15 lead.

‘‘Every practice, we work really hard on defense,’’ Sterk said. ‘‘The coaches tell us how much of an important part of the game it is.’’

The Mother McAuley defense continued to shut the Hawks down in the third quarter, limiting them to just five points in the frame. Boosted by two three-pointers from Chelsea Owens (nine points), the Mighty Macs stretched the lead to 35-20 after three.

A basket by Jen Moriarty extended Mother McAuley’s lead to 47-27 with five minutes left, and Hillcrest got no closer than 13 points after that.

Against a Hillcrest team that often runs all over teams, Mother McAuley beat the Hawks at their own game, using a pressure defense to force 23 turnovers and a fast-break offense to create many easy buckets in the second half.

‘‘We figured if we could control the tempo, we’d be in good shape,’’ Ade said. ‘‘We have a lot of depth, and we were able to run on them.’’

Sterk scored 12 fourth-quarter points as the Mighty Macs had little problem handling Hillcrest’s press.

‘‘The coaches told me I just needed to believe in myself,’’ Sterk said. ‘‘I think I do now. This is a really exciting win for us, and it will help us all believe in ourselves.’’

Sarah Garcia scored seven points and pulled in eight rebounds for Mother McAuley, and Moriarty added six points and eight rebounds.

Robinson finished with six points and six rebounds for Hillcrest.