Oak Park and River Forest High School tipped off its season with two victories at the Willowbrook tournament on Friday and Saturday, defeating Northside Prep and Maine East?#34;both by a score of 66-30.
Scoring in both victories was spread around the court for the Huskies (2-0). Jonay Foster led OPRF against Northside Prep with 12 points, while Ashleen Bracey and Meghan Kiefer added 10 apiece.
“Our defense was a little sluggish to start the game, but that’s expected in the first game of the season,” said OPRF head coach Adrian Newell. “The team played well after that, right on cue.”
Bracey, who has been bothered by tendonitis in her leg, led the Huskies past Maine East with 18 points and seven rebounds. Brittany Marshall poured in 15 points to go along with her seven rebounds and five assists. Amber Slaughter chipped in six points and seven rebounds for the Huskies.
Sarah Bunch, who has been out with a sore shoulder, was expected back to the lineup on Tuesday night (after deadline) against St. Benedict.
The Huskies face West Chicago tonight at 6 p.m. before taking on host Willowbrook on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Friars get defensive
With all the hoopla over Fenwick’s scoring potential headlining high school sports pages across the state, not much has been mentioned of its defense. Until, that is, the team showcased it in a 54-20 rout of Fremd in the season opener on Friday.
Fremd struggled to score in the opening round of the Niles North tournament, mostly due to the Friars’ relentless and unyielding defense.
Fenwick held the Vikings to a total of six points in both the second and third quarters.
The Friars, sparked by Brittany Johnson (seven points), and sophomores Devereaux Peters and Alison Jackson (19 points combined), held a commanding 44-13 lead by halftime.
Fenwick (2-0) followed up the onslaught with a 54-44 victory over Resurrection on Saturday.
Correction: In a preview story last week on the Fenwick girls’ basketball team, a quote by head coach Dave Power was unintentionally misplaced. Power made mention of a committee of replacements. The quote was supposed to be in reference to the departure of Kristin Heidloff, not two players nursing leg injuries this season. WEDNESDAY JOURNAL regrets the error.
Blazers down East
Trinity opened its season last week on a positive note. The Blazers edged Proviso East 53-47.
Alison Sansone led Trinity with 17 points. Katie Jarger chipped in 11 and Tonesha Members added 10 for the Blazers.
Trinity travels to Quincy for a holiday tournament on Friday and Saturday, before returning home on Nov. 30 to host Bolingbrook.
