Fenwick girls
Nothing seemed to stand in the way of the Fenwick girls basketball’s team quest to retake the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic title this season. The Friars, who lost to New Trier last season in the championship game, marched right through the tournament this time around, outscoring their four opponents 265-158, including securing a 65-47 victory over fourth-ranked Bartlett in the title game on Thursday.
Kyra Navarrete played a major role in all of Fenwick’s wins, including providing a 22-point performance in an 82-51 revenge thumping of New Trier in the semifinals and a 23-point performance in the win over Bartlett. The 6-foot senior scored 15 points in the first half against Bartlett and the Friars (14-1) cruised to a 34-21 advantage by the break.
The Hawks (15-1) never came within more than six points in the second half.
Sarah Williams added 11 points and six rebounds for the Friars, who had no trouble dispatching New Trier from the get-go either. They took a 17-point lead early in the opening quarter and never looked back.
Along with Navarrete’s 22 points, Williams finished with 18 and Maggie Reilly 12.
The Friars, who claimed their ninth Dundee-Crown Charger Classic title, clobbered Naperville Central 66-37 in the second round. Kathleen Roche led the Friars with 14 points, while Williams added 10.
Fenwick toppled Regina 52-23 in the first round on Monday night. Williams scored 14 points in that win.
The Friars return home on Jan. 8 to take on Bishop McNamara. They begin the McDonald’s Prep Classic at Willowbrook on Jan. 15.
Trinity
Megan Podkowa led Trinity to a 45-41 win over Stevenson on Wednesday night in the Suburban Holiday Showcase Tournament by scoring 10 of her game-high 15 points in the second half.
The junior also finished with nine rebounds and three blocks to help the Blazers (14-3) secure the tournament title. Proviso East’s victory over Loyola in the late game helped Trinity’s cause.
The Blazers followed up a 49-43 loss to Loyola by taking out 10th-ranked Proviso East 64-60 on Tuesday. Podkowa scored 23 points in that win.
Trinity starter Gracie Sanchez left the team and the school before the tournament. Click here for more info.
Fenwick boys
The Fenwick boys basketball team fell to St. Patrick 50-48 in the semifinals of the consolation round to end its run at the 80th Annual Proviso West Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.
The Friars (6-5) took a 10-point lead in the opening quarter, but the Shamrocks whittled it down to five before the period ended. In the second, St. Patrick outscored the Friars 19-10 and went into halftime with a 27-23 lead.
Fenwick rallied in the second half, cutting the deficit to one with a minute left in the final period, but St. Patrick (6-5) held on for the win.
John Malone led the Friars with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sam Ainsworth finished with nine, seven of which came in the first half.
Kortney Darby led the Shamrocks with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
In their first consolation round game, the Friars edged Hinsdale Central 59-48.
Ainsworth tallied a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds in that win. Tyler Sewall added 14 points for the Friars, who led by 14 at halftime and by as much as 28 in the third quarter.
It was over before it began for the Friars when they faced fifth-ranked Morgan Park in the first round of the tournament. Louisville-bound Wayne Blackshear scored 15 points to help give his Mustangs a 24-6 lead in just the first quarter alone. Blackshear finished with 40 on the night and Fenwick suffered an 82-56 loss.
Blackshear became the 15th player in tournament history to score 40 or more points in a game. He also finished with 11 rebounds and three blocks in the game.
Sewall led Fenwick with 19 points, hitting five three-pointers. Ainsworth added 13 points for the Friars, while Malone and Luke Lattner each chipped in eight apiece.
Morgan Park (5-0) was up 41-24 by halftime and held a 29-point lead at one point in the third quarter. The Mustangs scored 29 points on turnovers.
Fenwick returns home on Jan. 7 to take on De La Salle (7:30 p.m.). The Friars host Ridgewood on Jan. 8 (7 p.m.).
OPRF boys
OPRF had three players score in double digits in its second round game against Schaumburg at the 80th Annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Wednesday, but the only problem was the Huskies’ opponent, Schaumburg, had four players score in double digits. The Huskies (6-4) dropped to 0-2 in the tournament with a 73-57 loss to the Saxons.
Steve Ramsey led OPRF with 16 points, while Ka’Darryl Bell added 13 and Gabe Levin 10. But the Saxons, who took a 27-21 lead by halftime, were fueled by Javon McDonald’s 22 points. McDonald made 6-of-6 three-point attempts in the game. Schaumburg also received scoring production from Christian Spandiary (14 points), Kyle Bolger (10 points) and Jimmy Lundquist (10 points).
The Huskies lost to West Aurora 43-41 in the opening round. Josh Lang scored 13 points to lead OPRF, while Brian Miller added 10.
The Huskies led 19-17 at halftime but were outscored by West Aurora 15-8 in the third quarter. OPRF shot just 31 percent from the field in that game.
OPRF girls
The OPRF girls basketball team closed out the Montini Tournament with starting forward Stekara Hall scoring a season-high 35 points to lead her team to an 82-67 victory over St. Joseph.
In the second round, OPRF (8-9) fell to Marian Catholic 70-35. The Huskies took an early 5-0 lead but it was quickly erased as the Spartans jumped on a 32-4 run and never looked back.
Hall scored 11 points to lead the Huskies, who experienced a rough opening round on Monday night as well, falling to Bogan 48-34.
The Huskies, who also came from behind to down York 61-59 at Montini, begin the Fenton Tournament on Jan. 5. They return home to take on Proviso West on Jan. 7 (7:30 p.m.).
For more game coverage, read the Jan. 5 print edition of Wednesday Journal.
