In the eyes of coach Jason Nichols, only one thing stands between his Trinity girls basketball team and the upper echelon of state competition.
And that one thing nearly cost the Blazers Saturday night at Stevenson.
After No. 5 Trinity built as much as a 13-point first-half lead, Stevenson took advantage of a disastrous Blazers’ second quarter to take a short-lived lead early in the third. Trinity regained control to post a 59-46 victory.
“For three quarters we played extremely well,” said Nichols, whose team improved to 17-3. “And not to take anything away from Stevenson, but we sometimes have trouble with our focus. If we can get four quarters out of this team, we could be one of the top teams in the state. Until then, we will only be good, not great.”
The Blazers looked great from the start with junior forward Caprice Smith scoring eight of her 26 points and Katie Jarger adding six in the first quarter as Trinity built leads of 11-0 and 17-4.
But after trailing 23-12 with 7 minutes 48 seconds left in the half, Stevenson (10-8) climbed back, outscoring Trinity 16-5 the rest of the way, with Jessica Altieri (10 points) rattling in a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game 28-28. The Patriots briefly led 32-29 with 5:20 left in the third, but Trinity closed the quarter on a 16-2 run, with Smith and Ashley Owens each contributing five in the spurt.
The Blazers built the advantage to 53-36 with 3:54 remaining before Stevenson used a 9-2 run to move within 55-45 just over two minutes later. But despite missing three straight free throws, Trinity knocked down the next four in the final 39.4 seconds to ice the victory.
Erin Murtha paced Stevenson with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Phil English.
Marian Catholic 59, Homewood-Flossmoor 45
The No. 4 Spartans held on for the non-conference win behind Mary Basic’s 19 points, Lauren Lacey’s 14 and Missy Mitidiero’s 13. Basic and Mitidiero added four steals apiece.
Marian Catholic (16-1) used an 11-1 run in the second quarter, featuring two successful fast breaks and a three-pointer by Katie Calhoun, to build a 34-20 halftime lead.
H-F (10-7) had some momentum on its side in the third quarter when Jenny Barker hit a three-pointer with 2:30 remaining to cut Marian’s lead to 38-31, but Basic followed with two of her six points in the quarter to put an end to the rally.
Yinka Sanni, a 6-foot-2-inch junior, fought off consistent double teams to score 21 points and grab 11 rebounds for the Vikings in the loss.
Mike Duffin.
Naperville Central 70, West Chicago 35: Candace Parker collected 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals, and Rachel Crissy added 14 points as the top-ranked Redhawks (16-0, 5-0) rolled in the DuPage Valley. Shaina Sullivan had 15 points for the Wildcats (11-8, 3-2).
Marshall 63, Peoria Central 48: Jacquay Holmes put in 20 points and Britney Jones added 14 as the No. 6 Commandos (13-2) forced 32 turnovers en route to the win at Peoria Central (7-11).
Marshall opened the game with an 8-0 run, with Holmes providing half of those points, but went into halftime clinging to a 30-28 lead. Holmes then led the charge as Marshall opened the second half with an 11-0 run to outscore its opponent 19-5 in the third quarter.
“Jacquay plays very big even though she’s small,” Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters said about the 5-8 senior forward. “She’s our go-to player.”
York 37, Hinsdale Central 35: The No. 7 Dukes (18-1, 6-1) used Krystal Hugelier’s 22 points and Gina Hugelier’s two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to hang on for the West Suburban Silver victory. Dating back to 1998, York had lost 10 straight games to the Red Devils.
Liz Nelson led Central (9-9, 4-3) with 11 points, while Melanie Ploger did not play. Stefanie Reiff hit three free throws with 7.3 seconds left to pull Hinsdale within 35-32. Kelly Dianis banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.
Glenbrook South 66, Lake Forest 45: The ninth-ranked Titans (16-2) used Danielle Nabolotny’s 30 points and 12 rebounds for the non-conference win.
Regina 60, Queen of Peace 25: Rachel Picur and Clarise Jones scored 12 points each for the No. 11 Panthers (12-5, 4-0) in the GCAC Red.
Benet 46, Nazareth 37: Freshman Kaitlin McInerney’s 12 points and Chandra Smith’s 11 points led No. 12 Benet (17-2, 3-0) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Loyola 55, Libertyville 36: The No. 13 Ramblers (18-2) won behind Maggie Dugan’s 19 points and Brittany McCoy’s 16.
Oak Park 62, Downers Grove North 30: Dani Engleman had 13 points for the No. 14 Huskies (18-2).
Hersey 80, Prosser 77: Julie Mantilla’s 17 points and 14 rebounds led the No. 16 Huskies (12-5). The 6-4 senior also added 10 blocks to bring her career total to 486, a school record and fourth in the IHSA record book. The Hersey record had been held by Nicolette McCartney, who had 477.
Fremd 44, Niles West 26: Dominique Locascio put in 16 points for No. 18 Fremd (11-5).
Resurrection 65, St. Ignatius 52: Kristi Cirone tallied 29 points, five steals and four assists as the No. 19 Bandits (14-5, 2-3) won in the GCAC Red.
Timothy Christian 46, Illiana Christian 30: Larae Woudstra and Fenna Kooima had 12 points each for the Trojans (14-3, 4-0) in the Private School League.
