Stay Connected with YourSeason
Girls Basketball: Rich Central gets Hillcrest next
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: December 27, 2011 9:21PM
Rich Central can handle T.F. North. The No. 6 Olympians proved it at the Marist Thanksgiving Tournament, and again Tuesday at the Hillcrest Holiday Classic in a 66-50 quarterfinal victory.
But can they handle Hillcrest? Tyron Eubanks can’t wait for the chance.
“That’s who we wanted to meet,” she said. “We haven’t played them in a while. We’ve been waiting for this for quite some time now. We’ll be ready to come out intense and come out with enthusiasm.”
Rich Central and Hillcrest are to meet in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Chaz Duson led the way Tuesday, scoring 27 points. Alex Stanford added 10 points, Eubanks nine points and Layne Murphy 13 rebounds as Rich Central improved to 13-3. Sharee Greenlee and Schenia Battle had 13 points each and Sabrina Montgomery 10 for T.F. North (7-7).
Rich Central had some early problems with the Meteors, who led 11-8 late in the first period. The Olympians had further issues when Duson went to the bench with two fouls early in the second.
Eubanks was key in her absence, scoring all nine of her points in helping Central build a 29-16 advantage.
The big lead didn’t last, though. T.F. North, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers by Battle and Greenlee, got to within 29-26. It was at that point Rich Central coach Bryan Craig took a risk and sent Duson back in.
“Coach said, ‘No hands,’ ” Duson said. “I just had to play with my feet, no reaching.”
Offensively, she put the Olympians on her back, scoring on a three-point play, a driving layup and a putback over the final two minutes to send Central into intermission with a 36-27 lead.
T.F. North wouldn’t get closer than seven in the second half.
“They pushed us around a little bit and we’re not happy,” Meteors coach Tim Zasada said. “We thought we would play better than that, so it’s disappointing.
“Their advantage is that when they sense they can bully teams they do a very good job of it. Some teams stand up to them, but we’re not one of those right now.”
Two that did were No. 4 Homewood-Flossmoor (twice) and No. 1 Marist. That duo will meet in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
It should be an interesting two days for Rich Central.
“We’ve got a lot of doubters,” Duson said. “They say we’re a good team, but we didn’t beat H-F and Marist, and of course they down our other wins.
“So we have a point to prove. We have a lot of people to show up for.”
No. 2 Hillcrest 82, St. Ignatius 48: Shannise Heady (17 points) and Jasmine Sanders (16) helped launch Hillcrest (12-0) into the semifinals. Gena Lenti had 14 points for St. Ignatius.
No. 4 Homewood-Flossmoor 55, Harlan 24: H-F (11-3) moved into the semifinals as Charnelle Reed scored 16 points and Lauren Parker 10.
Consolation quarterfinals
Lockport 70, Tinley Park 62 (OT): Lockport (3-7) prevailed in overtime as Taylor Quain finished with 26 points and Nicole Foresman 16. Diamond Beatty (19 points) and Simona Sidaugaite (15) led Tinley Park (5-9).
Stagg 51, Simeon 47: Stagg (5-4) won another overtime thriller behind 20 points by Alexa Janus and eight each by Casey McMahon and Hannah Henderson. Jalisha Smith had 18 points for Simeon.
First Round
Rich Central 56, Tinley Park 37: Chaz Duson had 26 points and Alex Stanford 12 as Rich Central led 17-1 after one period. Diamond Beatty scored seven for Tinley Park.
T.F. North 64, Lockport 44: Devin Luster (13 points) Sharee Greenlee (12), Chanelle Howard (10) and Sabrina Montgomery (13 rebounds, 9 points) led T.F. North. Nora Polaski score 13 points for Lockport.
St. Ignatius 58, Stagg 46: Kelly Nickele scored 21 points and Gena Lenti 13 for St. Ignatius. Alexa Janus (15 points) and Kara Pietrowski (10) paced Stagg.
Hillcrest 78, Simeon 21: Shannise Heady (14 points), Jasmine Sanders (10) and Dana Gettis (10) starred for Hillcrest.
Harlan 51, Rich South 49: Two free throws by Linda Brown with five seconds remaining lifted Harlan. CiErra Garrett (14 points), Kiela Garner (12) and DeAsia Garrett (11) led the way for Rich South.
H-F 64, Thornton 37: H-F broke a tight game open in the second half behind Charnelle Reed (13 points), Danielle Woolfolk (12) and Amani Davis (11). Georgetta Reed and Nykia Day had 11 points each for Thornton.
Marist 58, Thornwood 35: Marist cruised behind JeTaun Rouse (12 points), Brooke Wyderski (12) and Leah Bolton (11). Kayla Owens scored 12 points for Thornwood.
Sandburg 52, Oak Forest 44: Ashley Youngwirth (17) and Rachel Ruzevich (10) led Sandburg, which started the game with a 17-0 run. Oak Forest received 16 points from Emily Naegele, 12 from Katie Swanson and 11 from Lauren Bal.
© 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.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment