Girls Basketball: Siwek, Fortune key McAuley streak

Updated: December 12, 2011 8:03PM

Mother McAuley’s 1-4 start is a thing of the past.

The Mighty Macs won their fifth straight game Saturday, defeating St. Ignatius 64-42 behind double-figure scoring by Alyssa Siwek and Tiffany Fortune.

Magic potion? Nah.

“Our shots are starting to fall, so that helps,” McAuley coach Karen Ade said. “The first two or three games we were shooting 20 percent from the field. Now the kids are shooting with more confidence and playing together.”

Siwek, a junior guard, is leading McAuley with 10.9 points and 4.3 assists per game, and is second on the team in rebounds (6.2) behind Brenna Nolan (6.4).

Fortune, a senior forward, is averaging 8.4 points but on Saturday poured in 16 against St. Ignatius.

Numbers don’t cover the impact of senior Susie Durkin, who filled a key hole when starting senior guard Kim Funk suffered an ACL injury during the second game of the season.

“Susie stepped up, and Alyssa (Siwek) and Elizabeth Nye (3.0 assists) both picked up their games offensively and defensively,” Ade said. “And Kristen Kleist has come in for us and done a good job defensively. The nice thing about our team is that different kids are able to step up for us.”

The Mighty Macs have a big challenge Tuesday in a nonconference game against No. 2 Hillcrest.

“We’ve been telling the kids all year that if we play how we’re capable of playing we can beat anyone,” Ade said. “Obviously, (Hillcrest) is very athletic and aggressive. The key to the game, I think, will be rebounding.

“One of our things all year has been if we rebound well, we play well, and if we don’t rebound well, we don’t play well. We’re hoping to get on the boards, break their trap and their press, and attack the basket on them.”

Sparkling Diamond

Tinley Park also is on a roll of late. The Titans kept their South Suburban Conference record perfect at 3-0 on Thursday as Diamond Beatty had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 59-45 win over Eisenhower.

Beatty, a junior guard, is averaging 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

“Diamond has really taken her game to the next level,” Tinley Park coach Jason Becker said. “She is a well-rounded player and is working to get better.

“She is great in the classroom and an all-around great kid. The girls say she is a goody two shoes, but she said, ‘No, I just do the right things.’ I love watching her play. Wow.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.