Girls Basketball: Lincoln-Way North tops Stagg for share of conference title

Updated: February 9, 2012 8:24PM

Stagg had the one-game lead. The homecourt advantage. The Senior and Parents Night hoopla.

But Lincoln-Way North had the height. The Phoenix also had a formula going into Thursday night’s SouthWest Suburban Red finale.

“Our game plan was to go in because we had the height advantage and to feed it into the post,” 6-foot senior Taylor Boardman said. “That worked. And then when they collapsed we went to our outside shooters and they hit some shots.”

The combination proved too much for Stagg to handle, as North prevailed 47-38 to claim a share of the conference crown.

Boardman finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, Sam Pietruszynski 12 points, Stephanie Pearson 10 points and Ellen Graham six rebounds for the Phoenix (22-5, 12-2).

Stagg (19-6, 12-2) was led by Kara Pietrowski (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Casey McMahon (9 points).

The Chargers, who had beaten North 40-37 on Jan. 17, enjoyed the lead only briefly this time, at 2-0 after a driving layup by Alexa Minkina and at 5-3 after a three-pointer by Alexa Janus.

It was the Phoenix, however, that proved more adept from the perimeter, as Pietruszynski hit two threes and Ashley Weringa another in building a 17-9 advantage after one period.

Stagg attacked North’s 1-3-1 zone fairly successfully in the second quarter, as Revi McMahon and Pietrowski each nailed threes. Pietrowski’s dart in the closing seconds of the half made it a 23-20 proposition.

The third quarter proved Stagg’s ultimate undoing. Pietrowski scored early, but the Chargers came up empty on their final 13 possessions of the quarter and finished 1-of-8 from the field with eight turnovers.

“They stayed in the 1-3-1, which caught me a little by surprise,” Stagg coach Bill Turner said. “Give them a lot of credit. They’re long, they play that 1-3-1 good and they’re hard to skip the ball over. They’re a really good team.”

Down 33-22 going into the fourth period, Stagg closed back to within five, but North maintained its composure at the free-throw line. Pearson in particular was clutch, hitting 5-of-6 shots.

“And we were strong with the ball there, too,” she said. “It’s nice to get a share (of the title). Stagg’s a good team, too.”

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