Ho hum, another two win night

If it were only that routine.

Tonight the Patriots went back down to Kankakee, this time to take on Kankakee Trinity Academy. Last year the girls came very close to getting their second win against KTA, and their record wasn't good this year. Since the Patriots have improved so much since last year, we had high hopes of extending the winning streak to six.

And when the Patriots jumped out to a 6-0 lead, it looked like that streak extension was in the bank. Even against KTA's aggresive man-to-man defense, the girls' offense was clicking. KTA broke the streak with a free throw, but HSRC got that one plus one back on another basket. Rachel, working hard down low, was fouled while shooting and make one, and it was an eight-point lead. KTA scored a basket, then Kara finished the quarter scoring with a breakaway layup to give the Patriots an 11-5 lead after one. KTA started the second working the ball into their tall girl, #22 and she was able to make a free throw and then she and #11, the other taller girl, made couple of short ones and it was a one-point game. But then Rachel got one down low, Kara scored off of another breakaway, and Alyssa hit a couple from the outside. Rachel got another down low on a beautiful post move and the lead was eleven. KTA finally stopped the run, but Alyssa scored to finish the half and return the lead to eleven, 23-12.

KTA (#11) got the first basket of the third, and our girls started a little cold. Finally Kara got one to fall, which was followed by baskets by Becca and Rachel. KTA finished the scoring in the quarter with a basket by their point guard, but the lead was thirteen going into the fourth. Carolyn started the scoring in the fourth, making one of two free throws. Becca and Kara got baskets, the Lee got her first of the game. The defense, as it had been most of the game, was active and suffocating. When Coach Boss cleared the bench with a little more than two minutes left, KTA had not scored in the quarter. Then the younger girls picked right up where the starters left off, playing active defense and not allowing a basket. The offense didn't quite match the defense, so there was no more scoring, resulting in the final score of 36-16.

Scoring was quite balanced in this game. Kara had ten, Rachel nine, Becca eight, Alyssa six, Lee two and Carolyn had one. Rachel had nine rebounds and Becca added eight. Kara led with four assists and and Alyssa had three. Those two were also the top stealers, Kara having nine and Alyssa six. Skywalker Lee got the only block for the Partriots.

The boys game immediately followed. KTA's JV team was the opponent this evening. The Patriots started out a little tentatively, and KTA's offense was very deliberate. The result was few shots and little scoring. KTA's JV is a pretty short team, so when the guys were able to work it inside, it started paying off. Justin got two baskets and Dustin one in the quarter, and the Eagles were held to only one basket in the quarter. Things started flowing a little better in the second. After #44 hit a nice three to bring KTA to within one, the 2-3 defense got a little more active, with the top two playing right on the ball handlers and getting in #44's face so he didn't have any more open looks. The offense, sparked by nice passing by Steve and Dustin and good inside work by Justin and Jimi, really came to  life. The Patriots ran off thirteen straight points to go up fourteen at 19-5. KTA scored the last two field goals in the half, including one at the buzzer to pull back to within ten at halftime.

Both teams played pretty good on the offensive side in the third. Luke L worked very hard down low and scored three straight buckets at one stretch for the Patriots, besides two free throws. Steve made his first basket in the quarter and Justin scored again inside. #30 from KTA started heating up, however and he scored seven in the quarter. #44 got free once in the quarter and made our guys pay with another three. Add in one free throw and KTA nearly matched the Patriots for scoring in the quarter, scoring eleven to HSRC's twelve. The Patriots started off very strong in the fourth. Justin scored inside, Dustin threw in a three and Steve made another one while KTA only got one basket in that period. Justin scored four more on a basket and two free throws, and the lead was twenty. KTA scored the last four points of the game to make the final 42-26, the second win of the season for the guys, and a very nice performance overall.

Justin scored seventeen to lead all scorers. Luke L had eight, Jimi six, Dustin five, Steve four and Luke D two. Dustin had eight rebounds to lead the team in that category and Justin added seven. Steve had seven assists, team high for the season, while Dustin added four. Luke L and Steve had four steals apiece and Luke D had three. Justin had two blocks and Jimi one.

Thursday we play Victory again; this time both teams will be playing. Victory has a decent guys team, so it will be fun to see if the Patriots can carry over some momentum from the KTA victory into this game. The girls have already beaten the Lions once, so I hope they aren't overconfident. The girls game starts at 6:00 PM and the boys at 7:30. Details are in the calendar at the bottom of the page, and I believe an email was sent out with the particulars. Season is winding down; don't miss a chance at seeing the teams in action.