H-F pulls away from pesky Shepard

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:50PM

When is losing by 24 points something to feel good about?

When you lost the year before by more than 60.

"There's no negative here," Shepard coach Rick Mundo said after his Astros gave No. 13 Homewood-Flossmoor fits at times and a hearty challenge throughout a 66-42 match-up Monday in Palos Heights.

The Vikings, led by Jailyn Norris (16 points, six rebounds), Charnelle Reed (12 points, seven rebounds) and Lauren Parker (10 points), improved to 8-1.

Shepard (3-5), playing without starting forward Raynisha Dent (sore shoulder), was led by Jamila McClinton (11 points), Amanda Weiss (10 points), Tiara Williams (eight points) and Kayla McKinney (seven points, nine rebounds).

On the surface a mismatch - at least based on recent history - the game had some interesting early turns.

Shepard, scrapping hard on the boards, led 7-4 with 4:21 left in the first period after a putback by Williams.

H-F, two for its first nine shots, then went on a 16-0 blitz, with Norris scoring nine of the points.

"We wanted to have a good start and break away to a nice lead," said Parker, who had six first-quarter points. "We wanted to work hard the whole game."

There were detours.

Appearing poised to run away and hide, the Vikings opened the second period by missing their first six shots. Shepard, meanwhile, kept working hard underneath. Williams made a layup while being fouled, missed the free throw, but grabbed the rebound and put it back in for two more points.

With 4:01 left in the half, it was 23-16.

"Our whole modus operandi was to match their intensity," Mundo said. "We knew who H-F was, we knew they were good. And we were in a seven-point basketball game with (four) minutes to go in the half. Then we lost our focus for a few minutes and it hurt us."

H-F put the hammer down. A three-point play by Reed was one of the early salvos in a half-closing 17-3 run that left the Vikings on top 40-19.

Shepard didn't quit. The Astros outscored H-F 13-11 in the third period. But the Vikings, despite a 4-of-22 performance from 3-point range, still were able to comfortably stay in front.

"We could have shot the ball a little bit better, but I thought we played pretty well tonight," H-F coach Dana Noble said. "Defensively, allowing just 42 points isn't bad. It was a decent win for us."

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