Chicago Elite Classic notes
Thonton 46, Simeon 40: One play served as the perfect summation of this game: Thornton’s Phalan Sigers stole the ball and weaved through defenders as she scored a layup. Sigers finished with 18 points on a variety of jumpers.
“At the beginning I was looking to get my teammates open, but then my jumper started falling,” Sigers said.
Thornton’s defense set the tone, forcing 26 Simeon turnovers.
Naperville Central 57, Phillips 54: After trailing for most of the game, Naperville Central guard Erin Hackett connected on a three-pointer from the right corner as she was fouled to give her team a 51-48 lead for the Redhawks. Hackett was sensational in the second half, scoring 20 points in the second half. She was relentlessly driving to the basket, and the physicality caused her to up her game when she wasn’t getting foul calls in the first half.
“I wanted this win just to boost everyone on our team up,” Hackett said. “Once they kept fouling me and not calling, I really wanted to win after that.”
Naperville has played one of the most challenging schedules in the state so far: The win against Phillips snapped a five-game losing streak for the Redhawks.
Lakeeyah Barnes and Kamaria Sephus each scored 15 points for Phillips.
Loyola 64, St. Louis. Vashon 24: The Ramblers didn’t waste time making a statement at the Chicago Elite Classic. Loyola jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back. The Ramblers are veteran group: They mix talent with cohesion as well as any team in the state. Guard Aubrey Galvan is one of the best passers in the state, and she can score the ball. She’s a high-level passer, and her teammates are always in lockstep with what she’s seeing on the court. Morgan Bruno was on a hot streak from the three-point line. Read about the game here.
Young 46, Lyons 45: What a game between two of the better programs in the state. Young escaped with a 46-45 overtime win over Lyons.
The Dolphins were led by junior guard Destiny Jackson, who scored 19 points. Junior guard Kiaya Johnson forced a pivotal steal in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Johnson scored 12 points and dished out five assists.
Sophomore forward Lysa Jones scored ten points and grabbed nine rebounds. Young doesn’t possess a lot of size, but they have multiple guards at their disposal who can guard. Despite Lyons starting three players 6-0 or taller, Young won the rebounding battle 35-24. But how was Young able to out-rebound Lyons despite the size disadvantage?
“Just being tougher, Jackson said.
“It’s been a good challenge,” Jackson said. It’s made me better as a player because being able to guard point guards and bigs and defend both will take my game to a new level.”
Homewood-Flossmoor 53, Butler 43: H-F pulls off an upset in their win over Butler. The Vikings withstood many runs from Butler to secure the win. Senior guard Jaeda Murphy scored a game-high 28 points for H-F, getting to the free-throw line 17 times. Sophomore guard Aunyai Deere added 15 points and six rebounds. H-F turned 18 turnovers into 13 points.
“Defensively, I know they’re always behind me,” Murphy said. “I knew I could pressure the ball because they had my help.”
Northwestern commit Xamiya Walton finished with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
Bolingbrook 65, Kenwood 59: Bolingbrook beat Kenwood in a physical, tightly contested matchup. The top game of the day lived up to the billing. Sophomore Trinity Jones, one of the best players in the country, did not disappoint: She scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for her new team. The 6-2 forward on multiple drives went to a patent spin move that worked consistently.
Senior guard and DePaul commit Angelina Smith had a strong game, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Smith converted a critical and-one to put Bolingbrook up four with less than two minutes left.
“I try to pride myself on being a really strong point guard for my team,” Smith said. “When they need me to make the big buckets, they know I’m clutch.”
Kenwood’s Danielle Brooks scored a game-high 26 points. Ariella Henigan added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Broncos.
Kyle Williams is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.
