The Lady Pirates squared off against the Hilltoppers of Glenbard West in the West Suburban Cross Conference Championship on Wednesday night at Biester Fieldhouse in Glen Ellyn. The Hilltoppers took advantage of the home court and dominated the first half of the game. Young Hilltopper, center, sophomore Taylor Huff scored 12 of the 17 points in the first quarter, leaving the Lady Pirates down by 5.
Even with only three seniors on their roster, Glenbard West continued to outmatch the Lady Pirates and built their lead over the more experienced East squad to 13 points. East however, led by the will of guard Daliyah Brown scoring 11 points and drawing fouls from the Hilltoppers, withstood the pressure and stayed in the game. Down by 7 at the half, the Lady Pirates were not ready to leave Glenbard West without being at the top of the hill.
It was the in the third quarter that the tables turned. The Lady Pirates doubled down and outpaced the Hilltoppers, scoring another 27 points and shutting down the Glenbard attempts to come back, despite freshman Maggie Stutelberg’s pair of three pointers at the arc. The Proviso East defensive pressure wilted the Hilltoppers, who started to get into foul trouble. The steadfast Kyla Richardson and Keimari Rimmer were unstoppable, shooting for 9 points each and were backed up with Daliyah Brown (4) and Nachelle Rouse (3) from the line.
Once the Lady Pirates took the lead, there was no turning back. The Lady Pirates continued to dominate in the fourth, out scoring the Hilltoppers to win the championship with a final score of 75-61.
