Girls Basketball: Tim Zasada believes TF North will rise

Updated: November 28, 2011 6:36PM

Tim Zasada is used to winning. Over the past three seasons his T.F. North teams were 28-3, 28-4 and 20-11.

He thinks he’ll have a winner in 2011-12. But don’t rush him.

The Meteors ended an 0-4 skid out of the blocks with a 62-54 win Friday over Oak Park-River Forest at the RedHawk Thanksgiving Classic at Marist. Afterward, Zasada was a man taking a breath of fresh air.

“It sure is, man,” he said. “This is a tough tournament. Marist, Rich Central, H-F ... it’s a tough way to open your season. But we just want to get better every day,”

The Meteors, with only two returning starters, ran into a rough crowd at Marist, losing to No. 7 Rich Central 51-36, No. 5 H-F 59-51 and the No. 1 host RedHawks 61-39. They also played St. Ignatius tough before losing 54-46.

“We never shy away from anyone,” Zasada said. “We want to stay in the big-time tournaments. That’s the only way to get better.”

In the meantime, some big-time efforts already are in the books as 6-foot-3 senior post Sabrina Montgomery had 24 points and 20 rebounds against H-F, Sharee Greenlee 17 points against Marist and Schneia Battle 20 points in the win over Oak Park.

“We’ve got some players,” Zasada said. “It’s just a matter of getting the surrounding cast to fit in.

“You know, even when I had good teams we lost here. So walking away with one win isn’t the worst thing in the world. A winning season is great, but I want to cut down the nets at regional time. That’s our goal. And I think we’re going to get there.”

Time out, East

After starting the season by beating Marian Catholic and sweeping the field at the Richards Tournament, No. 3 Lincoln-Way East is in the middle of an 18-day break. The Griffins haven’t played since Nov. 19 and won’t until Dec. 8 at Joliet Central.

“What happened is we’re part of the Sweet Sixteen Tournament,” East coach Jim Martin said. “The IHSA won’t allow us to stretch that tournament out during the whole year anymore.”

Hence, the Griffins will play eight games during a stretch from Jan. 14 to 31. In the meantime ...

“I gave them Thanksgiving weekend off, and we’re going to come back like it’s the first day of practice,” Martin said. “We’ll just work on adding some new things.

“I know kids like Taylor (Johnson) and Caitlin (McMahon) are champing at the bit already. We were ready when we came out for Marian, so we’ll act like we’re starting the season again and go from there.”

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