Entertaining loss

It was possibly the best game the Patriots played this year.

And yet, they lost.

The Patriots went down to Kankakee tonight to take on Trinity. The team they played was mostly their JV, but due to some ineligibilities and sickness, they added some of their varsity players. The Patriots played very well against this very good team and lost 44-35. The game had a flow to it, due to the style of play of the opponents and the fact that they were playing on a regulation court.

Trinity had two girls with height, so a zone was called for. However, they also had a girl who was deadly accurate from the outside. She hit three in the first quarter, and one of the tall girls was nearly unstoppable down low. There was no way for the Patriots to play man-to-man because of the height differential. During the quarter, Coach switched from a 2-3 to a 1-3-1 to try to take away the outside shooting while also trying to keep the tall girls from torching us close to the basket. This was somewhat effective and allowed the Patriots to pull within 21-11 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was a continuation of the end of the first, with the Patriots playing better defense. Trinity's lead only increased by one in the quarter, with the score at half, 28-17.

The experience and height showed some in the third, and Trinity outscored the Patriots 12-6, making the score at the end of three, 40-23. There was one remarkable sequence in the quarter. Becca got an offensive rebound and put it back up, missed, rebounded her own miss and put it up again, rebounded strongly one more time and finally got the ball to go down.

The start of the fourth quarter found the the strong tall player for Trinity on the bench, and the Patriots scored the first six points to pull within eleven. The teams played pretty evenly from there on out, resulting in the final deficit of nine points.

Scoring was as follows: Michele had 11, Kara had 10, Becca had 8, Jackie 4 and Mary 2 (Trinity focused on Mary once they figured out she was the primary ball-handler, which opened up opportunities for the other girls). Becca led in rebounding with 11, which I believe is the high-water mark for this category this year. Michele had six, Kara, Jackie and Alyssa each had 4 and Mary had 3. Mary, Jackie, and Michele each had two assists, and Kara and Becca had one apiece.

My vote(s) for players of the game would go to Becca and Michele.

Next week's games: Thursday at Stone Academy at 4:00, and Friday at 3:15 in Gurnee against the Home Run Kids.

Longest winning streak of the season

Three in a row. That sounds good. Especially when it's three wins in a row.

Last night the Patriots held off a scrappy Christian Hills Academy team, 20-13, to extend the winning streak to three. The Patriots' record is now 6-7 for the season.

The game started slowly, as both teams were playing solid defense. The score was Patriots, 4-2 at the end of one quarter. The second quarter saw much of the same, with each team scoring two baskets for a halftime score of 8-6. The third quarter was dominated by the Patriots, outscoring Christian Hills 10-1. Mary drove the lane several times, and Jackie got a couple of baskets. Christian Hills really cranked up the defensive pressure in the fourth, outscoring our girls, 6-2, but the game was in hand by this time.

Stats are as follows: Mary led in scoring with 12, Jackie had 6 and Michele had 2. Jackie was the leading rebounder with 10, followed by Mary with 7 and Michele with 5. Michele had 2 assists while Mary and Becca each had one.

Only one day off and then the girls will be back at it at Trinity of Kankakee, at the Kankakee Community Resource Center, 150 N. Indiana Ave. at 6:30. Note the time; the game was originally scheduled for 7:30. See you there.

New win streak

The girls extended their current streak to two wins with a victory over Stone Academy yesterday afternoon. I don't have complete game stats for reasons most of you know. The final, I heard, was 28-20. The girls jumped out to a nine point lead at the end of the first quarter. Stone chipped away at the lead until the score was 21-20 early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots then pulled away at the end.
The Patriots complete their second back-to-back series of games tonight at Christian Hills in Orland Hills at 4:15 PM.

New win streak begins

The Patriots played the Southside Baptist Torchmen (Torchwomen?) yesterday afternoon at their home court in Oak Lawn. This was a last-minute addition to both of the teams' schedules, as Southside had a cancellation that opened up a date for us.

The game was against Southside's junior high team which was quite young and small. This was reflected in the tone of the game, which the Patriots won, 36-4. Southside had no answer for Mary, who dribbled through their defense rather easily. Coach tried to keep the score down, but Julia was not able to attend this game, so he really couldn't clear the bench. We will probably try to schedule their JV or varsity next year.

The game did give opportunities for the other two non-starters as well as some scoring chances for starters who usually don't score. Mary did lead in scoring, however, with 12, but Michele was right behind her with 10. Among the non-starters, Alyssa had a big game with 6, and so did Cassidy who had 4. Kara rounded out the scoring with 4 as well. Leading rebounder was Jackie with 9. Alyssa had 6, and Mary, Becca, Michele and Cassidy (yes, Cassidy) had 3 each. Jackie, Alyssa and Mary had 3 assists apiece.

Next game is Monday, January 28 at 4:00 at Stone Christian in Palos Heights. See you there.

Three strikes

The final score was about the same as the first two times we played Victory, but the game was quite different. The team's improvement was noticeable. The final last night was 31-19, but there was no "garbage time" in this one. The girls hung tough until Victory got some breathing room at the end.

The score at the the end of one quarter was 13-8, Victory. We hit some outside shots and were moderately successful in denying the ball to their six-footers. The second quarter was even, as the Patriots tightened their defense even more, and Mary scored all six points in the quarter.

The Patriots came out strong in the third, with Mary hitting a three to bring them to within two points. Victory then went to a man-to-man defense which flustered the Patriots somewhat. That three by Mary turned out to be our only score, while Victory scored six, making the score at the end of three, 25-17.

The fourth was more of the same, as the Patriots struggled to get an open shot, and Victory methodically added to the lead.

Statistics (per me): Mary scored 13, Kara 4 and Jackie 2. Jackie led in rebounding with 8, while Mary, Becca and Michele each had three. Mary and Kara each had one assist.

Next game: Thursday, January 24 at 4:30 PM at Southside Baptist, 5220 W. 105th St. Oak Lawn, IL. Come on out and cheer on the Patriots.

Yikes

Tonight's opponent was Landmark in their postage-stamp sized gym in Tinley Park. Landmark was the team CHESS opened up against. The score of that game was 26-18, so the hope was that, now that the girls have some experience, they might have a good chance in this one. Well, apparently Landmark had gotten some experience as well. The final tonight, I believe, was 34-11. I won't say much about the game, as there really wasn't much to say. Lets just say the opponents were extremely aggressive, yet almost never committed a foul. Hmmm..... The opposing coach was kind enough to pull his best player with a minute and a half to play, when they were up by 28 and long after the game was in hand. Thanks, coach.

In all fairness, Landmark was the better team, and they outhustled the Patriots from beginning to end. I didn't arrive on time, so I don't have stats for the game.

The girls will have a week to recover their confidence before taking on Victory Christian for the third time this season. That game is at Victory at 5:30 on Tuesday, January 22 in Valparaiso.

Continued struggles against Victory

Well, we haven't gotten any taller since the last time we played Victory, and the final score reflected that. The first quarter offered some hope, however, as the girls stayed close. The score at one time was 8-8, as Victory gave us some open shots and we were successful in denying their big girls the ball. But they changed their defense, and they started getting the ball to their tall girls, and they scored the last four points of the quarter to lead 12-8. The second quarter was rough, as Victory continued as they finished the first quarter. They outscored the Patriots 14-0 for a 26-8 halftime score. The third quarter started out the same, and the lead stretched to 32-8 before Victory rested their stars and the shots started going down. The Patriots scored the last eight points of the quarter to trail 32-16 at the half. The fourth quarter began with Victory's starters in. They increase their lead again, this time to 38-17 before they cleared the bench. Mary hit some threes to make it respectable, 40-29.

Mary led in scoring with 15, Kara, Jackie and Becca had 4 apiece, and Julia and Michele each had 1. Jackie had 11 rebounds, while Kara had 6 and Becca had 5. Mary had 5 assists and Kara had 3.

Next Game: 3:30 Tuesday at Landmark Christian in Tinley Park. Come out and see how much the girls have improved since they played Landmark for their first game of the season.

Second hand report

Well, I wasn't able to be at the game yesterday, since it was so early and I could not get away from work. I did get a report from one who did attend, however. It sounds like I missed a great one. Apparently the girls went down 12-2 due to the play of one Granger player. Our brilliant coach called a timeout and devised a plan to shut her down, which was successful, resulting in a 26-20 overtime win.

Scoring was as follows: Mary - 10, Kara and Jackie - 6 apiece, and Becca and Michele with 2 each.

Jackie led in rebounds with 9, followed by Michele with 8 and Becca with 7.

I hope to have an eyewitness report of the next game, which is Friday, January 11 at Victory Christian in Valparaiso. Game time is 5:00.

Better than the Bulls in back-to-backs

A little alliteration in the title for you. What it means is that the CHESS Patriots won their second game of the year in the second game of two games on consecutive days. This was also the Patriots second and last "home" game, home being the Elim Christian School's gym in Palos Heights. Tonight's opponent was the JV/JH team from Home Run Kids in Gurnee, IL.

The Patriots won handily, 32-11, setting a season high for points scored. The girls jumped out early, leading 10-3 after one quarter and 20-5 at halftime. The third quarter was even as the shots stopped dropping, but the girls reestablished themselves in the fourth quarter, outscoring the HRK's by 8-2.

Kara B. led all scorers with 12, followed by Mary B. with 8, Michele D. and Jackie A. with four each, and Julia J. and Cassidy S. with a basket apiece. My highly unofficial rebounding numbers had Kara with 9, Becca D. with 8, Alyssa D. with 6 and Jackie had 5. Mary led all players with five assists.

Next week the Patriots take on Granger in South Bend, IN at 4:00 on Tuesday, January 8 and at Victory Christian in Valparaiso (the second game against them this year) at 5:00 on Friday, January 11. Hope you all can make it to these games.

First home game, fun; result, not so much

So, so close. The Patriots played their most exciting game to date tonight, losing in overtime to the Crossroad Crusaders, 32-28.

CHESS began the game as they have begun most of their games this year - like someone forgot to tell them they had started. Score at the end of the first quarter: 9-0, Crossroads. But then the girls shook off the early jitters and began hitting some shots. The score at the half was 13-6, and then 16-12 after three. But the fourth quarter was the amazing one. The girls put up sixteen points in the fourth quarter! The problem was, they gave up twelve, so the game was tied at 28 at the end of regulation. In the overtime, the shots wouldn't go down and Crossroads hit the offensive boards hard, resulting in a 4-0 advantage in the overtime period and the final score you see above.

Mary B. led the team in scoring with thirteen (which I believe may be the high water mark for individual scoring for the Patriots this year). Kara B. finished with six, Michele D. had four, Becca D. and Alyssa D. each had a basket and Jackie A. made a free throw.

We're back at it on our home floor tomorrow agains the Home Run Kids, a home school team from the Gurnee area. See you there!