Indians survive in nail-biter

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SOMONAUK -- With the season still in its infancy, Sandwich has some things to be excited about in winning 35-31 over tournament host Somonauk on Tuesday.

Sandwich handily won the first three quarters before letting it get close in the final seconds. In the end, the Indians got the victory and were able to try out some new strategies.

Leading the way for the Indians was Nan Darby. Her 14 points and 15 rebounds were both team highs, but she doesn't get caught up in the numbers.

"I just wanted to be a captain and try to take over," she said.

She was 6-of-17 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line. Her experience will be key to leading the Indians into conference play, and Tuesday night she was able to score big baskets and dominate the boards with quality box-outs and high intensity.

"The first three quarters of the game she was sealing real well and playing big and then got into foul trouble," Sandwich coach Randy Malloy said.

The fourth quarter opened with Sandwich having an eight-point lead, its biggest of the night. But the Bobcats would not go away easily. They scored the first three points of the quarter to narrow the deficit to five.

Then the Indians started to pull away. They upped their lead to 11 and looked to be in control.

However, fouls and turnovers allowed the situation to get dicey for Sandwich.

"I would like to say we got fatigued," Malloy said. "But working on ball handling and controlling that offense is what we will be working on the next couple days."

The game got as close as three points with just 11.7 seconds remaining.

Somonauk was fouled on an inbounds pass and made one of two free throws. The second one was missed, but was rebounded by the Bobcats, who made the put-back and got fouled again.

That pulled Somonauk within 34-31.

Sam Leigh was fouled and went to the line for the Indians with the game in balance.

"I just worried about putting it in the net and not focus on anyone else around me," she said.

She made the first one, taking the lead to four and icing the game.

Sarah Crothers added nine points, including a big fourth quarter with back-to-back baskets to create that 11-point lead.

The Indians are relying on Crothers and Darby for leadership, and already they have helped make coach Malloy adjust his habits.

"I haven't run man-to-man defense in a long time coaching, but they like the intensity and we are going to work on that," he said. Girls Basketball: Sandwich 35, Somonauk 31