So close to the second sweep of the year

Last night both teams played the Grace Baptist Crusaders' teams down in Kankakee. Both games were nail-biters. The girls edged their Grace counterparts 34-32, while the boys' rally fell just short, as they lost 39-36.

The girls didn't play Grace their first year, but last year they played one time, with Grace winning 44-25. That Grace team had two six-foot girls, and they killed us by the guards throwing it in to the tall girls who shot over our helplessly flailing girls. Grace shot over 40% in that game. However, we knew that one of the girls had left the school (well, I knew it because Kara's volleyball team had played them this fall). Grace doesn't post their scores anywhere, but some of their opponents do, and we found out from that that Grace wasn't real strong this year. So of course the girls fell behind quickly, 7-2. Then the girls found their stride. After a couple of misses, Rachel made three shots in a row, Kara got a basket and Becca made two free throws. HSRC scored ten straight to close the quarter and led by five. The streak continued in the second. Becca and Rachel each scored inside and the lead was nine. Then Grace went on a 6-2 run when they got the ball with just a few seconds left in the half. They ran a nice play and scored as time ran out in the quarter to pull within three, 18-15.

Grace continued their run into the third, scoring the first two baskets to got back on top, 19-18. Then Kara, who had eleven steals on the game, made a couple of baskets off of steals, while Becca scored a couple and Rachel one down low. This was despite the intense pressure defense Grace played in the quarter Grace got a couple of baskets during the stretch, but the Patriots led 28-23 at the end of three quarters. In the fourth, Grace's defense got even more intense. Some might say too intense. Our defense cranked up a little as well in the quarter. According to some, it was too intense. Unfortunately the refs were among the "some". Grace started making free throws as our fouls began to mount. On the other side of the court, the Patriots were not faring well. Because of the frenetic defense Grace was playing, our shots were not falling. The game was tied when the fouls began to even out. Now our girls began to make some hay at the line. Rachel had all seven of her free throw attempts in the quarter and knocked down four. She also made a basket to account for all the points scored by HSRC in the quarter. Our defense was effective, and the girls escaped with the two-point victory.

Rachel had a big game, with sixteen points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Becca and Kara had eight points each, with Alyssa scoring two. Lee didn't score, but did get three rebounds and five steals.

The boys game was a little different. There weren't as many momentum changes, but there were a couple of dramatic ones. The guys started out in a man-to-man defense, but had difficulty keeping up with the quick Crusader players. Also, Grace was good at making cuts off screens and driving to the basket. Very quickly it was 7-0 Grace. Finally Luke D. got free for an open attempt and buried it. Grace continued their effective offense however, and even though Luke got another one from the outside and Jimi made a nice shot, Grace extended their lead to 15-6 by quarter's end. The Patriots switched to a 2-3 zone in the second, and it seemed to work well. Also, Steve came in after a bit and sparked the offense with his passing. Jimi scored inside and outside, Luke D. hit another jumper and Justin got a layup. On the defensive side, after allowing Grace to shoot 40% in the first, the guys held Grace to one basket on thirteen attempts in the second. Grace did score two from the line, but that was it for them in the quarter, and HSRC pulled to within five at half, 19-14.

The third quarter opened up with a beautiful pass from Steve to Luke L., who finished it nicely. Luke L. also made two free throws while Justin made an inside shot and Steve hit one outside. Grace scored four points during this run, so it was a one-point game. But then Luke L. got into foul trouble and had to sit down. Grace started a run with a three-pointer, and then moved inside and got fouled several times. The Crusaders ended up scoring the last eight points of the quarter and moved out to a 31-22 lead by the end of the third. I don't recall exactly the ebbs and flows of the fourth, but I do remember that the guys opened up hot and narrowed the lead. Then Grace grabbed the momentum back, and I think led 39-32 with a minute or two left. The defense then became very effective. The Patriots had pulled to within three when they got the ball back with just a few seconds left. They crossed half-court with two seconds to go and called time. But the guys couldn't get a shot off, and they lost the heart-breaker.

Scoring for the Patriots was very balanced. Justin and Luke D. each had eight, Jimi and Steve had six and Luke L. and Dustin had four each. Justin had ten rebounds, Dustin had eight, Steve had six and Luke L. had 5. Steve had six assists and two steals; Dustin had four steals, three assists and a block; Jimi had three steals and one big block; Luke L. had two steals; and Justin had three steals and three blocks.

Scrimmage against Parkview on Thursday at Balmoral for the boys, then practice for boys and girls to follow. On Friday, both the boys and girls will play Southside in Oak Lawn, girls at 4:30 and boys at 6. See you there.