Romeoville Girls Bag Second Straight Victory

As the mad rush for last minute shopper's progresses, Oak Lawn tipped off its annual girls basketball holiday tournament.

And two teams went shopping for a victory at noon on Saturday. Romeoville faced off against Harlan in the first round.

The Spartans (6-4) added their second victory in as many days by taking down the Falcons 53-41.

Both teams started slowly. Harlan led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter.

When Romeoville sophomore forward Kierra Currie registered two fouls early, sophomore teammate Abby Smith was forced to lead the way for the Spartans. Smith finished with 13 points, five steals and four assists.

"We had a big win (Friday over Oswego East), and were focused on holding our struggles to one (quarter)," Smith said. "It's time to step up when Kierra (Currie) gets into foul trouble. She's one of our top players. I saw the middle (of the lane) a little better than everyone. Today was a good win."

 When the Spartans finally hit their stride in the second quarter, they ended the half on an 11-3 scoring run. The shooting woes of the Falcons, and the defensive wall initiated by the Spartans, held Harlan to a seven-minute scoring drought and one lone field goal.

At halftime, Romeoville led 21-14.

Although the Spartans doubled the Falcons in the turnover department (16-8), they made up for the micues on the boards. Romeoville outrebounded Harlan 32-20.

The Falcons, who went 1-for-12 from behind the three-point arc, began the second half by hitting 4-of-5 shots.. With this new-found explosion of the long ball, the Falcons cut the deficit to 32-29 by the end of the third quarter.

When the two teams returned to action in the fourth quarter, so did Currie. She scored 11 of her 12 points in the second half. She also grabbed 10 rebounds to put another double-double on her resume.

While Harlan's shooting struggles returned (the Falcons went on a second four-minute scoring drought), the Spartans began a 9-2 scoring run and used that to carry them the rest of the way.

"We set a goal for the tourney, and that was to be 3-1," Romeoville coach Julio Carrasco said. "We emphasized that, and I'll be very disappointed if we didn't (finish the tournament with the 3-1 record). When Kierra (Currie) got into foul trouble, it was a team effort to win this one.

"Abby (Smith) is really maturing at the point guard position, but there is always room for improvement. Navadee (Gonzalez) stepped it up and showed her senior leadership. We're expecting to win more games like this with big hustle."

Romeoville sophomore guard Angelica Osusky added big three-pointers down the stretch and finished with nine points, while sophomore Brianna Harris chipped in seven points and six rebounds.

The Spartans play again at 6 p.m. Monday against Evergreen Park.

Harlan was paced by junior guard Kendra Sole, who finished with 14 points. Junior guard Latisha Bennett added 13.

The Falcons (4-9) play Oak Lawn at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

"We have been struggling at the point guard position, and we're trying to get someone to learn the position," Harlan coach Eddie Niles said. "We have to get into the gym and play harder. We need to have some discipline and start ready. Everything will work well if we work harder."