Game 16:

Our JV Lady Spartans hosted the Northbrook Raiders. We got off to a hot start. Rylah Barnes tirelessly worked for an offensive rebound. After securing the ball, she began a beautiful sequence of passes. She passed it out to Caroline White at the wing, who swung the ball around to Riley O’Connor. Riley then found Katherine Cronin for an uncontested three-pointer make. The team passing continued later in the quarter with Katherine passing to Caroline, who then tossed the ball to Riley at the wing. After scanning the court, Riley passed the ball back to Caroline to complete the give-and-go. The quarter was topped off with Caroline stealing a pass at  the top of the arc and converting on the fast break while being flagrantly fouled.

The second quarter was passing, passing, and more passing. Caroline, Rylah, Emerson Berg, Emily Covington, and Sophia French combined for a fifteen-pass combination. After weaving the ball around the court, Emerson caught the pass down at the block. She finished after a strong drop step. The team assembled another five-pass sequence later in the quarter which culminated with Rylah hitting a jumper from the elbow. After two more Sophia French steals and finishes, our JV Lady Spartans were up 20 to 2.

The second half was more of the same. Emerson fought for and won a defensive rebound and found Sophia for the outlet. Sophia dribbled down the court causing the defense to collapse around her. She kept a cool head and found Caroline for the finish. Later in the half, Riley stole the ball and passed the ball down to Camille Warren. After catching the pass, Camille faked to the right but spun the other way for the finish in the paint. Katherine saved a ball from going out of bounds and tossed it to Camille. Camille checked for teammates and found Jordan Lundy open for a bank shot. The final highlight of the game came from an exchange between Katherine and Kendall Parker. Katherine passed to Kendall at the elbow. After shaking the defense, she boomeranged the ball back to Katherine for a three-pointer.

The victory ended 40 to 11.

Some of the stats of interest were the following:

• Caroline White had 9 pts, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Katherine Cronin had 8 pts, 2 steals, a block, and a rebound.
• Sophia French had 6 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
• Riley O’Connor had 5 pts, 7 steals, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds.
• Emerson Berg had 2 pts, 9 rebounds, and an assist.
• Rylah Barnes had 2 pts, 10 rebounds, and an assist.
• Camille Warren had 4 pts, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Emily Covington had 4 pts and 2 rebounds.
• Jordan Lundy had 3 pts, 3 steals, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
• Kendall Parker had 2 assists and a rebound.

Game 17:

Our JV Lady Spartans travelled to Spring Woods to play the Lady Tigers. Our Spartans were prepared as they took advantage of several steals in the first quarter. Camille Warren turned two steals into easy transition points. Riley O’Connor and Camille also worked some give-and-goes that sliced through the opposition’s defense. When the Lady Tigers were not losing their defensive shape, they were fouling. We made half of our eight free throws in the first quarter and built a 14 to 1 lead going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, our opponent kept us at bay after making some defensive adjustments and “parking the bus” in the paint. This forced us to have open looks at the hoop, but the rim was unkind and we went one for nine from the field. After quite bit of effort and commotion, our Lady Spartans slightly increased their lead to 16 to 1 heading into halftime.

The team passing increased in the second half. From the first inbound, Riley found Caroline White for an easy layup after she beat the defenders to the hoop. After capturing a loose ball, Jordan Lundy passed the ball to Kendall Parker. Kendall found Caroline on the backside crashing toward the hoop. Kendall passed the ball to Caroline for another strong finish. All of a sudden, our Lady Spartans came alive in each phase of the game. Our team swarmed on defense and Emerson Berg secured the rebound. Then a beautiful sequence of passing began with Emerson distributing the ball to Riley. Riley advanced the ball to Katherine Cronin. The play that started at our hoop finished with Rylah Barnes catching Katherine’s pass, beating several defenders, and finishing the fast break. Even more passing plays continued as the ball went around the arc beginning with Katherine to Emerson to Riley. Riley faked out the defense and found Emerson back at the block for the lay in. The transition game continued with a steal by Riley, who provided the outlet pass to Katherine. Katherine completed the play by finding Camille for the easy layup. Quick thinking led to even more easy points with Caroline using some high screens to find Kendall Parker for a slick bank shot. Later, Camille seized the opportunity and took an inbound pass through the heart of the defense before passing through the middle of the court to Rylah. Rylah outraced the remaining defenders for the layup.

The victory ended 37 to 14.

Some of the stats of interest were the following:

• Camille Warren had 17 pts, 3 steals, 4 rebounds, and an assist.
• Caroline White had 5 pts, 3 steals, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Riley O’Connor had 4 pts, 8 steals, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds.
• Emerson Berg had 2 pts, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and an assist.
• Rylah Barnes had 4 pts, 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.
• Kendall Parker had 2 pts, 3 rebounds, and an assist.
• Katherine Cronin had 1 pt, a steal, an assist, and a rebound.
• Jordan Lundy had 2 pts and 2 rebounds.
• Emily Covington had 2 rebounds and a block.

Game 18:

Our JV Lady Spartans hosted Cy Ridge. We got off to a hot start. The first quarter was grand larceny. Caroline White, Rylah Barnes, Sophia French, Riley O’Connor, and Camille Warren combined for a total eleven steals in the first. All of these steals led to easy points with Caroline, Riley, and Camille seizing the ball and then feeding the fast break to each other for uncontested layups. Even when we missed, Rylah and Camille were there to clean up the offensive boards for second-chance scoring opportunities. We led the game 18 to 10 going into the second quarter.

The JV Lady Spartans tightened their defense even more in the second quarter. Emerson Berg, Katherine Cronin, and Riley continued with steals and easy layups. Even when the opponent thought that they had a layup, Camille ran back and rejected the shot. After hitting two three-pointers in the first quarter, Riley sank another in the second frame. Caroline dashed any hope that the opponent had when she took an inbound pass, dribbled up the court, and banked a three-pointer from the top of the arc. We led 30 to 15 going into the half.

The JV Lady Spartans really took off in the third quarter. Katherine Cronin fought for and ultimately grabbed an offensive rebound. After evaluating the situation, she found Rylah for the jump shot. The potent offense continued with Emerson grabbing a rebound,  followed up with an outlet pass to Caroline. Caroline swung the ball to Riley, who made the connection to Katherine around the arc. She caught the swing pass, squared up, and hit the three-pointer. The barrage of three-pointers continued. Riley stole the ball and passed to Emily. After passing the ball around, the ball ended up in the hands of Sophia French. Sophia found herself well beyond the arc,  but she didn’t hesitate. She dialed in and launched a three-pointer with great conviction. After the ball fell through the hoop, the crowd erupted. The scoring continued as Camille slid to her left while dribbling. After confusing the top of the zone, she found Kendall Parker at the elbow. Kendall turned around toward the basket and swished the jumper. The lead grew to 42 to 20.

The fourth quarter was highlighted by a nine-pass sequence involving all five Spartans on the court. Between all of the passing amongst Riley, Caroline, Katherine, and Emerson, the defense did not know which way the ball was going. Ultimately, it landed with Rylah for the swish. Later in the quarter, Camille passed to Rylah at the elbow, who then found an unguarded Riley for a three-pointer. After grabbing an offensive rebound, Rylah passed to Camille at the elbow. Camille dribbled to block, causing the defense to collapse. She bounced a pass to Emerson for a swish. The victory ended 59 to 31.

Some of the stats of interest were the following:

• Riley O’Connor had 24 pts, 7 steals, 7 rebounds, a block, and an assist.
• Caroline White had 9 pts, 3 steals, 4 assists, and a rebound.
• Camille Warren had 6 pts, 4 steals, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.
• Rylah Barnes had 4 pts, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist.
• Emerson Berg had 2 pts, 5 rebounds, and a steal.
• Katherine Cronin had 3 pts, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal.
• Kendall Parker had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist.
• Jordan Lundy had 4 pts and 3 rebounds.
• Sophia French had 3 pts, a rebound, and a steal.
• Emily Covington had 4 pts and 2 rebounds.

Game 19:

On Saturday, our JV Lady Spartans met the Memorial Mustangs at Don Coleman Coliseum. The first quarter was sloppy by both sides as turnovers and poor shooting prevented the flow of the game to settle. Jordan Lundy fought tirelessly down near the blocks. And she was rewarded for the punishment that she endured. She went four for four from the free throw line. Later in the quarter, Riley O’Connor drew in the defense and kicked out the ball to Camille for the midrange jump shot. Unfortunately, even though our team put in the effort, we trailed 8 to 12 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Mustangs began raining three-pointers,  which grew their lead, but our JV Lady Spartans continued to work. Camille split the defense with a pass to the elbow to Rylah Barnes. Rylah found Riley in the corner for a three-pointer. Both Jordan and Emerson Berg did everything that they could at the blocks and suffered some hard fouls. They helped by sinking some of their free throws. Our team was down 13 to 31 going into the half.

The third quarter had some nice combination play. The first sequence started with Rylah Barnes wrestling an offensive rebound away from the Mustangs. She passed out Riley at the top of the arc. She allowed the defense to close her out and passed over them to Katherine Cronin in the corner. Katherine’s quick observation located Camille at the block. Katherine slid the ball down to Camille for the finish. Riley continued working the defense with another drive and quick to the elbow, where Camille was stationed. Camille took the pass, did two power dribbles followed by a windmill through the lane for a high bank shot. Riley’s precision passing was on full display again when she later drew the defense up the court only to slice and dice the defenders with a backdoor pass to Rylah for the layup. The score was 21 to 42 after the third quarter.

The fourth quarter began with a scramble that started with Riley saving the ball from going out of bounds. Riley passed the ball down to the block to Jordan. Jordan passed the ball out the wing to Katherine, who continued the passing to Riley. Riley drove toward the line but pitched the ball back to Emily Covington. Emily banked in a beautiful three-pointer from beyond the arc. Later in the game, there were multiple players from both teams on the floor fighting for a loose ball. Rylah rolled the ball to Riley. As she was laying on the ground, Riley bowled a pass through the entire paint to Katherine. After fielding the ball, she laid in the bank shot.

Our Lady JV Spartans came up short 47 to 32.

Some of the stats of interest were the following:

• Riley O’Connor had 12 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
• Rylah Barnes had 2 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 assists.
• Camille Warren had 6 pts, 3 steals, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.
• Jordan Lundy had 5 pts and 2 rebounds.
• Katherine Cronin had 4 pts, 2 assists, a rebound, and a steal.
• Emily Covington had 3 pts and 2 rebounds.
• Emerson Berg had a point and 3 rebounds.
• Sophia French had 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
• Kendall Parker had 2 rebounds.