Girls Basketball: NIles West readies for first-place showdown with Maine West
BY DAN SHALIN Contributor January 30, 2012 2:38PM
Highland Park-Kristin Reichert (left) Niles North drives to the hoop. Niles North vs. Highland Park varsity girls basketball. | Joe Cyganowski ~ For Sun Times Media
standings
CSL South
Niles West 6-2 18-8
Maine South 5-3 21-6
Glenbrook S. 5-3 19-5
Evanston 4-4 13-10
New Trier 4-4 17-8
Waukegan 0-8 2-18
CSL North
Niles North 7-1 15-10
Maine West 7-1 11-15
Glenbrook N. 5-3 16-6
Highland Park 3-5 11-11
Deerfield 2-6 5-19
Maine East 0-8 3-17
(Records through Sunday)
Article Extras
Updated: March 3, 2012 8:29AM
Niles North turned in a fine defensive performance Friday in a win over Highland Park, as the Vikings kept their CSL North title hopes very much alive.
The victory set up this week’s showdown between Niles North (15-10, 8-1) and Maine West (8-1 CSL North). The winner of that contest, at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Des Plaines, will be in the driver’s seat for a conference crown.
A CSL North title would be Niles North’s first since 2004.
“If we win, we secure at least a first-place spot. If we win the next two, we are in first-place by ourselves,” Niles North head coach Dan Paxson said. “We haven’t really talked about winning a championship. We’ve really just talked about the next game. In practice (this week), we will talk about the need to have good practices. We won’t be focused on the big picture. But we know Friday is an important, big game.”
The Vikings held Highland Park on Friday to just 16 second-half points in a 48-36 win on the road.
“I was really pleased with our defense,” Paxson said. “We made Highland Park work for any kind of open look. They used a lot of clock trying to get a clean look. Our half-court defense is what got us through the game.”
Niles North led 26-20 at halftime and 38-30 after three, before outscoring the Giants 10-6 in the final frame.
It was another strong late-game effort by the visitors.
“We know that every conference game is going to be a battle; there is not one game that isn’t,” Paxson said “We’ve really been playing well these last few in the third and fourth quarters. I think it’s a testament to how hard the kids work in practice.
“We have two-hour practices and from start to finish, we go full-court working hard. That’s helping us late in games. We still look pretty fresh in the fourth quarter, getting to the ball, pressuring the ball.”
Senior forward Mariyah Henley led Niles North with 14 points, senior guard Alissa Hirsh had 11, junior Shelley-Rae Moody scored 10 and played fine defense and senior Angela Jones had five points and five assists. Junior Kristin Reichert (6 points) also made a key contribution off the bench.
One of the key plays in the contest, according to Paxson, was when Hirsh located senior Lizzie Rivera for a three-pointer at the end of the second quarter, which put the Vikings up 26-20.
“That really turned the momentum. It was the biggest lead of the game to that point,” Paxson said. “We had led by one or two points in the first half. When we got that three with time running out, it helped our momentum. We built off of it in the third quarter.”
Jones then opened the third quarter with another three-pointer.
Highland Park star Lena Munzer did have 22 points, but Paxson said the junior needed to work hard for everything she got, and the Vikings didn’t let any of the other Giants hurt them.
Paxson did say his team needed to do a better job rebounding.
On Jan. 25, Niles North defeated Gordon Tech 54-37. Henley led the Vikings with 13 points, Matthies had eight and Moody seven.
Seedings
The Vikings found out last week they are the No. 7 seed in the Class 4A New Trier Sectional. Niles North opens postseason play on Feb. 14 against No. 9 Maine West in the Niles North Regional. The winner could meet No. 1 Maine South in the regional title game on Feb. 16.
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