Dukes Get Payback With Defense

After the York girls basketball team lost its first meeting with Downers Grove North, senior guard Meryl Cripe was determined things were going to be different Tuesday.

For Cripe, that included better individual and team defense by the Dukes against senior Katie Hunzinger, the Trojans’ leading scorer who had 20 points when Downers North won 51-46 Dec. 4 in Elmhurst.

“Personally I came in with (the attitude) like, ‘Yeah,  that’s not happening again,’ " Cripe said. "I just had to focus that she wasn’t going to score that much again. The other guards, when we’d switch on her, we all had that ‘No, it’s not happening again,’ determination.”

A strong defensive effort and a six-point scoring swing in the final seconds of the first half set the tone for the Dukes’ 50-32 road victory in the rematch to remain in the thick of the wild West Suburban Conference Silver Division race.

Senior Mary Colon, York’s leading scorer, had 26 points with four three-pointers along with seven rebounds. She had 16 of the Dukes’ 30 points over the second and third quarters as they took control.

Hunzinger, who averages 14 points, finished with six—all in the second half after the Dukes led by double digits.

“It was a big game and we knew it was a big game. If we wanted to win conference, this was the first step and we got it done," Cripe said.

“It’s more satisfying (to win this) and it gets our momentum going for the rest of conference, knowing we can compete. It was a good boost for us.”

Sophomore guard Anna Bell Lansdowne added 10 points for York (13-10, 5-2 in Silver) and Nicole Brown (5 points) and Alex Harrell (3 points, 3 rebounds) were strong contributors off the bench. Although Cripe had just two points on a pair of first-quarter free throws, she was credited with 11 assists on the Dukes’ 17 field goals, five of them three-pointers.

The victory keeps York tied for first in the Silver in the loss column with Oak Park and Proviso West, which the Dukes each still play once. York now does not play for 10 days until back-to-back Silver home games against Hinsdale Central Friday, Jan. 28 and Proviso West Jan. 29.

Downers North (9-9, 3-3) has lost four in a row, six of its last seven, and visits Glenbard West Thursday. The Trojans were led Tuesday by Alison Schuster’s 10 points after she scored 13 in the first meeting.

“We have almost 10 days to sit and think about this game. I’m glad we’re going to be sitting and thinking about a win,” York coach Jason Reinecke said.

“We really felt like we played poor defensively in that first game, not to take anything away from Downers Grove North because they had a couple of girls that really hurt us the first game, Hunzinger and Schuster. We fouled too much, we weren’t in our help-side position so that was kind of the point of emphasis.”

York trailed most of the first quarter but then came a gridlocked second quarter, in which the teams combined for just 17 points.

Down 16-12, York closed to within one point when Colon hit a three-pointer. After a turnover with 17.3 seconds left, York played for the last shot and a possible halftime lead.

Off a pass to the left corner by Cripe, Lansdowne hit a three-pointer and was fouled after her shot, putting York ahead 18-16 and giving them the ball back with 3.7 seconds left. After an inbounds pass by Brown and a pass by Cripe, Colon nailed a trey a few steps behind the top of the key to give York a 21-16 halftime advantage.

“As good a defense as we were playing, I wasn’t sure we were going to ever be able to put the ball through the net, and then all of a sudden those two threes fall right before the half and that was the momentum shift,” Reinecke said. “I think that carried into the second half and, combined with our defense, we were able to build the lead.”

York didn’t back down. The Dukes scored on their first five possessions of the third quarter to open a 29-18 lead and were ahead by at least eight points the rest of the way. The Dukes led 39-27 by the end of the period and by double digits throughout the fourth quarter.

York finished with just seven fouls, even after going to a full-court press in the second half during its scoring flurry. The Trojans were limited to six free throws after they were an impressive 22-for-26 from the line in the first meeting.

A hot-shooting Colon also helped. She was 10-for-16 from the field and had nine of the Dukes’ 12 second-quarter points on three threes. Her ability to hit from the outside against the Trojans’ 2-3 zone helped to open things up inside in the second half.

“I went to the gym (and) I got off 100 shots before the game so that might have helped,” Colon said. “I think since they already beat us on our home court, we were just pumped no matter what happened. Even if I wouldn’t have made those shots, we would have still been pumped.”

York won 56-52 at Downers Grove South Saturday and beat Leyden 77-49 Friday in Elmhurst.

Colon had 26 points against Downers South on 7-for-16 shooting with four three-pointers and by going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Colon also had nine rebounds and two steals.

Other contributors included Cripe (13 points, 3 steals, charge taken), Lansdowne (7 points, 6 steals, 6 assists), Glynis Albue (4 points, 6 rebounds), Tawny Tucci (4 points) and Harrell (4 rebounds). York was 14-for-16 from the free-throw line.

Lansdowne (12 points with 2 three-pointers), Brown (11 points with 3 three-pointers), Colon (10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals, 3 assists), Hailey Park (9 points, 4 rebounds), Tucci (8 points) and Cripe and Albue (7 points each) led the attack against Leyden.

York 50, Downers Grove North 32

York (13-10, 5-2): Anna Bell Lansdowne 2 5-6 10, Tawny Tucci 1 0-0 2, Megan Holmes 1 0-0 2, Meryl Cripe 0 2-2 2, Mary Colon 10 2-4 26, Nicole Brown 2 1-2 5, Glynis Albue 0 0-0 0, Hailey Park 0 0-0 0, Mary Harrell 1 1-2 3, Molly Holmes 0 0-0 0, Molly Schlecht 0 0-0 0, Courtney Klatt 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 11-16 50
Downers North (9-9, 3-3): Mary Echemann 1 0-0 3, Katie Hunzinger 2 1-2 6, Lisa Lutz 3 0-0 6, Amelia Echemann 2 0-0 4, Alison Schuster 3 4-4 10, Sarah Costello 0 0-0 0, Amanda Jirka 1 0-0 3, Sarah Sczapanik 0 0-0 0, Frannie Jones 0 0-0 0, Christine Sydelko 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12 5-6 32

York 9-12-18-11 -- 50
Downers North 11-5-11-5 -- 32

Three-point field goals: York 5 (Colon 4, Lansdowne), Downers North 3 (M. Echemann, Hunzinger, Jirka). Fouls: York 7, Downers North 12. Fouled out: None.