Girls Basketball: Niles North pulls away from Glenbrook North
Updated: January 22, 2012 12:31AM
Rachel Blitt’s drive and bucket pulled Glenbrook North to within a single point at 26-25 halfway through the second quarter at Niles North on Friday night.
And then two special players from the home team took over this CSL North contest.
Alissa Hirsh scored 20 points and teammate Mariyah Henley had 19 points and 14
rebounds to lead the Vikings on a 17-2 run en route to a 57-42 win over Glenbrook North.
Hirsh, held to three points in the first half, broke out with 17 second-half points.
“We talked at halftime how we came out flat in the first half,’’ Hirsh said. “And then something snapped. We knew we had to take the ball to basket. And once a few shots fell, we got going.”
Hirsh’s first basket of the game came in the final minute of the first quarter and the Vikings (13-9) were up 12-4. But the Spartans (15-6) used some outside shooting from Sammie Von Rueden (15 points) to crawl back into the game. On a rebound bucket from Gracie Sanchez (13 points), the Spartans took a 17-16 lead.
“We started turning the ball over,’’ said Glenbrook North coach Renee Brosnan. “It went from a one-point game to a nine-point game. We have the ability to overcome that but their offensive rebounds killed us.”
At one stretch of the third quarter, the Vikings missed seven straight shots and the Spartans caught up in a hurry. But a four-point run by Henley and Hirsh’s buzzer-beating shot built the home team’s lead to 35-25 at the end of the third quarter.
“In the second half, we did a much better job of pushing the pace,’’ said Niles North coach Dan Paxson. “We like to pick up full court and we started to turn them over.”
Hirsh’s three-point play opened the fourth quarter as the Vikings opened a
double-digit lead.
“In the second half, I knew I couldn’t score another three points,’’ Hirsh said. “And my floater got going.”
Erica Sogo backed up the Glenbrook North attack with six points. Shelley-Rae Moody
chipped in seven points for the winners.
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