Furr helps fire up Minooka

AURORA -- By taking the ball to the basket with regularity Saturday morning, the Minooka girls basketball team found the feast of charity during the holiday tournament season.

Junior guard/forward Stephanie Furr scored a team-high 18 points and the Indians shot 20-of-28 from the free-throw line in notching a 58-49 victory over Naperville North in the West Aurora Thanksgiving tourney.

Sophomore Ashley Clemmons added 11 points for Minooka (3-1), while St. Francis recruit Morgan Novak had 10. Ryan Cunningham and Lyndsay Doyle also contributed 8 points.

The Indians, who jumped to a 14-11 lead after one quarter, trailed 27-22 at halftime.

"In the second half, I thought we rebounded and defended better," Minooka coach Ray Liberatore said. "All game, I thought we did a great job of attacking the basket, and because of that, we shot 28 free throws and they shot three.

"Lastly, we had great scoring balance, which is going to make us tougher to defend."

Lincoln-Way Central 44, Rich East 42 -- In the Lincoln-Way Central Classic, the host Knights squandered a 12-point lead but pulled out the tourney win when senior Erin Kotlarz connected on a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer. Kotlarz finished with 7 points.

Cassie Basak and Hilary Soderborg led LWC (2-0) with 10 points each. Missy Riordan delivered 8 points.

Benet Academy 47, Joliet Township 38 -- Senior guard Keairra Collins totaled 12 points and 4 rebounds for JT (1-5), which dropped its fifth straight game in the Naperville/Benet Thanksgiving Tournament.

Jennifer Jorman also had 10 points and a pair of assists for the Steelmen, who trailed 20-17 at halftime.

"Again, it came down to missed shots," JT coach Roger Plechaty said. "We missed a ton of shots -- from threes to bunnies underneath. Defensively, I thought we did a good job of containing their shooters until we had to put them at the free-throw line.

"The girls played hard up to the very end, but we're just not finishing right now."

Plainfield South 49, Luther North 48 -- Tiara Smith paced the Cougars with 23 points. Lauren Marusarz and Kalyn Hutchinson each chipped in with 9 points.

Providence Catholic 76, Lakes 24 -- Brianne Vanderberg delivered 19 points and 4 rebounds and sophomore Cassidy Glenn chalked up 15 points, 4 blocks and 4 steals for the Celtics (2-3). Emily Persak picked up 12 points.

Plainfield North 48, Thornridge 29 -- North (5-0) posted the victory in the Lincoln-Way Central Tournament. Heather Wagner had her second double/double of the tournament with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kendra Lumpkin added 10 points. Cassie Wolfe chipped in with 10 rebounds and Ashlee Yost had 7.

The Tigers led by 7 points after one quarter and by 19 at halftime.