Big Third Quarter Lifts Marquette
Lady Cru Hold On at Somonauk ...
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
SOMONAUK – Sometimes the best part of a high school basketball game can come
during the opening minutes of the third quarter.
Marquette Academy proved so Tuesday evening at Somonauk with an 11-0 run that
opened the third period and ultimately led to a 45-41 victory.
Trailing 20-17 at the intermission, the Lady Crusaders rallied to take a 28-20 lead at the 3:
40 mark of the third stanza.
From there, Marquette (24-2) hung on as the Lady Bobcats (10-13) mounted a big march
down the stretch to close to within two points at 43-41 with just 20 seconds to play.
But Marissa Gama (five points) calmly sank two free throws with 11 ticks left on the clock
that sealed the four point Lady Cru victory.
Gama’s pair of charity throws and Madi Smith’s team-high total of 14 points helped
counter the great performance of Somonauk senior post player Lauren Brummel who was
amazing as she fought back with game-high totals of 22 points and 12 rebounds for the
Lady Cats.
However, it wasn’t quite enough to upset Class 1A-ranked Marquette as the Lady Cru
registered their eighth consecutive victory since its last loss to Rochelle on January 3.
“We didn’t have a very good start to the game so we wanted to have a good third quarter
start and we did,” said Marquette coach Todd Hopkins. “Give the Brummel girl credit
because she controlled the paint tonight no doubt. Somonauk played well and gave us
fits. It wasn’t our best game, but a lot of that has to do with the way they played. We were
just lucky to hang on tonight against a very good basketball team.”
“This is one we wanted to win most definitely. We’ve been playing very well as of late and
against one of the top teams in the state, we felt we were up to the challenge,” said
Somonauk coach Eric Roberts. “Marquette is very well coached with coach Hopkins
getting win number 301 tonight. They just have a very solid program and they held us off
after we played a bad third quarter and we couldn’t catch them in the end.”
The Lady Crusaders led 10-9 after one quarter, but the Lady Cats went on a 11-7 second
period run to take a 20-17 lead at halftime spurred by Brummel’s six tallies down the
stretch in the second period.
But Marquette opened the third quarter with 11 unanswered points capped by Jessica
Jessen’s three ball at 4:40 and her two-point bucket at 3:40 which gave the Lady Cru an
eight point lead after the halftime deficit. Jessen ended the night with the five markers.
But Brummel went to work from there scoring seven points during a 7-2 Somonauk run
that pulled the gap to 30-27. Allison Humes (seven points) then hit a three-point banker at
the third period buzzer to pull the Lady Cats to within four at 34-30 with just eight minutes
to play.
The two clubs traded baskets down the stretch with Gama getting the last word with her
two key throws in the waning moments that secured the Marquette victory.
“I knew I had to make my free throws,” Gama said. “We were only up by two points with
about ten seconds left, so I knew if I made my free throws we’d be in pretty good shape.”
Gama did just that and Somonauk failed to put any points on the board after missing a
slew of shots as the final clock sounded.
“This was definitely a big win for us tonight against a very good Somonauk team,” Smith
said. “Brummel was tough and she played a great game. But we were able to come out
with a big win.”
Cordy Murphy (eight points, seven rebounds) helped Smith and Gama, while Alice Salt
closed with seven points as well.
Emily Clark (eight points) chipped in for the Lady Bobcats.
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
SOMONAUK – Sometimes the best part of a high school basketball game can come
during the opening minutes of the third quarter.
Marquette Academy proved so Tuesday evening at Somonauk with an 11-0 run that
opened the third period and ultimately led to a 45-41 victory.
Trailing 20-17 at the intermission, the Lady Crusaders rallied to take a 28-20 lead at the 3:
40 mark of the third stanza.
From there, Marquette (24-2) hung on as the Lady Bobcats (10-13) mounted a big march
down the stretch to close to within two points at 43-41 with just 20 seconds to play.
But Marissa Gama (five points) calmly sank two free throws with 11 ticks left on the clock
that sealed the four point Lady Cru victory.
Gama’s pair of charity throws and Madi Smith’s team-high total of 14 points helped
counter the great performance of Somonauk senior post player Lauren Brummel who was
amazing as she fought back with game-high totals of 22 points and 12 rebounds for the
Lady Cats.
However, it wasn’t quite enough to upset Class 1A-ranked Marquette as the Lady Cru
registered their eighth consecutive victory since its last loss to Rochelle on January 3.
“We didn’t have a very good start to the game so we wanted to have a good third quarter
start and we did,” said Marquette coach Todd Hopkins. “Give the Brummel girl credit
because she controlled the paint tonight no doubt. Somonauk played well and gave us
fits. It wasn’t our best game, but a lot of that has to do with the way they played. We were
just lucky to hang on tonight against a very good basketball team.”
“This is one we wanted to win most definitely. We’ve been playing very well as of late and
against one of the top teams in the state, we felt we were up to the challenge,” said
Somonauk coach Eric Roberts. “Marquette is very well coached with coach Hopkins
getting win number 301 tonight. They just have a very solid program and they held us off
after we played a bad third quarter and we couldn’t catch them in the end.”
The Lady Crusaders led 10-9 after one quarter, but the Lady Cats went on a 11-7 second
period run to take a 20-17 lead at halftime spurred by Brummel’s six tallies down the
stretch in the second period.
But Marquette opened the third quarter with 11 unanswered points capped by Jessica
Jessen’s three ball at 4:40 and her two-point bucket at 3:40 which gave the Lady Cru an
eight point lead after the halftime deficit. Jessen ended the night with the five markers.
But Brummel went to work from there scoring seven points during a 7-2 Somonauk run
that pulled the gap to 30-27. Allison Humes (seven points) then hit a three-point banker at
the third period buzzer to pull the Lady Cats to within four at 34-30 with just eight minutes
to play.
The two clubs traded baskets down the stretch with Gama getting the last word with her
two key throws in the waning moments that secured the Marquette victory.
“I knew I had to make my free throws,” Gama said. “We were only up by two points with
about ten seconds left, so I knew if I made my free throws we’d be in pretty good shape.”
Gama did just that and Somonauk failed to put any points on the board after missing a
slew of shots as the final clock sounded.
“This was definitely a big win for us tonight against a very good Somonauk team,” Smith
said. “Brummel was tough and she played a great game. But we were able to come out
with a big win.”
Cordy Murphy (eight points, seven rebounds) helped Smith and Gama, while Alice Salt
closed with seven points as well.
Emily Clark (eight points) chipped in for the Lady Bobcats.
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
At Somonauk
Marquette 45, Somonauk
41
Marquette (45) – Caputo 0
0-0 0, Jessen 2 0-0 5,
Gama 1 2-2 5, Smith 7 0-1
14, Taylor 2 0-1 4, Evola 1
0-0 2, Salt 3 1-2 7, Murphy
3 2-4 8. Totals 19 5-10 45.
Somonauk (41) –
Weismiller 0 0-0 0, Kawall
1 0-0 2, Clark 3 1-3 8,
Rabe 1 0-0 2, Peluse 0 0-0
0, Brummel 10 2-5 22,
Humes 2 1-2 7, Brue 0 0-0
0. Totals 17 4-10 41.
M.A. (24-2) 10 7 17 11 – 45
Somo. (10-13) 9 11 10 11 – 41
3-point goals – Marquette
2 (Jessen, Gama);
Somonauk 3 (Humes 2,
Clark). Rebounds –
Marquette 30 (Murphy 7,
Smith 6, Salt 5);
Somonauk 28 (Brummel
12). Turnovers –
Marquette 11; Somonauk
16. Total fouls (fouled out)
– Marquette 17 (Jessen);
Somonauk 12.
Marquette 45, Somonauk
41
Marquette (45) – Caputo 0
0-0 0, Jessen 2 0-0 5,
Gama 1 2-2 5, Smith 7 0-1
14, Taylor 2 0-1 4, Evola 1
0-0 2, Salt 3 1-2 7, Murphy
3 2-4 8. Totals 19 5-10 45.
Somonauk (41) –
Weismiller 0 0-0 0, Kawall
1 0-0 2, Clark 3 1-3 8,
Rabe 1 0-0 2, Peluse 0 0-0
0, Brummel 10 2-5 22,
Humes 2 1-2 7, Brue 0 0-0
0. Totals 17 4-10 41.
M.A. (24-2) 10 7 17 11 – 45
Somo. (10-13) 9 11 10 11 – 41
3-point goals – Marquette
2 (Jessen, Gama);
Somonauk 3 (Humes 2,
Clark). Rebounds –
Marquette 30 (Murphy 7,
Smith 6, Salt 5);
Somonauk 28 (Brummel
12). Turnovers –
Marquette 11; Somonauk
16. Total fouls (fouled out)
– Marquette 17 (Jessen);
Somonauk 12.
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Photo by Bill Lidinsky
Marquette's Cordy Murphy (center) is guarded by Somonauk's Lauren Brummel (rear) and
Katie Peulse (front) during a non-conference game at Somonauk on Monday.
Marquette's Cordy Murphy (center) is guarded by Somonauk's Lauren Brummel (rear) and
Katie Peulse (front) during a non-conference game at Somonauk on Monday.