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Girls Basketball: Trinity cruises past Vernon Hills
Vernon Hills High School varsity basketball player, Lauren Webb (42), leaps over Lakes Community High School player, Ashlee Cunningham (21), during a game at Vernon Hills High School, on Thursday, January 5, 2012. | Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 21, 2012 11:49PM
Alyssa Dengler drained her first four three-pointers against Vernon Hills to put No. 4 Trinity in the driver’s seat and the Blazers never eased off the pedal in throttling the Cougars, 67-34 Saturday night.
Dengler’s fiery start seemed contagious for Trinity (19-1) as they sprinted out to a 16-point halftime lead, picking apart Vernon Hills’ defense as their offensive sets ran like a well-oiled machine.
“This is a very versatile team,” Trinity head coach Ed Stritzel said. “We have been on the road for a month straight now, there is no environment we haven’t seen at this point.”
Depaul-bound Megan Podkawa followed suit for the Blazers with 10 points in the third quarter as they pulled away and opened up a 30-point lead.
Podkawa finished the night with a game-high 16 points but it was Dengler’s slick perimeter shooting that set the tone to rattle the Cougars in the opening stanza.
“I’m always looking to get to the basket,” said Dengler, who finished with 15 points. “But when I get some open space, I love going for the threes.”
The Cougars (16-3) looked frazzled and were plagued by turnovers from the start.
“We definitely didn’t come out the way we wanted to,” Vernon Hills head coach Paul Brettner said of the Cougars tumultuous offensive output. “Offensively, we just couldn’t get into a rhythm. Trinity has a lot to do with that.”
The Cougars were paced by Lauren Webb (13 points). Sydney Smith added seven points.
Stritzel said getting a fast start is critical to playing on the road against strong opponents such as Vernon Hills.
“Vernon Hills is the biggest team we’ve had to go against,” he said. “We were worried about their size but with Alyssa shooting the heck out of it, we were able to come out and get comfortable.”
Dengler said her team is clicking at the right time.
“We are all bonding so much as a team right now,” she said. “When they penetrate and get to the basket, it opens up space for me to shoot.”
Both teams incorporated pink into their outfits to commemorate “Think Pink” night.
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