A little reflection went a long way for Argo before the final game of Reavis’ Ram Holiday Classic Shootout on Dec. 16.
After Alizza Quinones and her fellow Argonauts held a meeting, they rolled by Thornridge 52-22 in their tourney finale .
“The past few games we came out lazy and sluggish,” Quinones said. “We talked, and came out a lot stronger and together.”
Argo coach Dan McCarthy was happy to see his team locked in before the game.
“We drove here in a dead silent bus,” he said. “I’ve never seen that in 26 years as a head coach.
“This was a really good sign that these girls really wanted to play and get a bounceback game.”
Quinones opened the game with a basket and finished with a game-high 22 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
“Hitting that first shot was a confidence booster and makes you want to keep going,” she said.
Quinones and Alexendria O’Hara were Argo’s all-tourney selections.
O’Hara had double-digit rebounds in every game, including a game-high 12 against Thornridge.
“She’s putting together a really solid senior year and she’s definitely our go-to rebounder,” McCarthy said.
The win got Argo (5-5) back to .500 and snapped a five-game losing streak.
“We wanted to get that energy back and be high-octane on defense and to extend the floor by trapping and harassing the ball, McCarthy said. “And that is what we were able to do today.”
Defense a key for Reavis
Host Reavis opened the shootout with losses to Thornridge (29-25) and Morton (43-37). But a strong defensive effort powered the Rams to a 38-15 win against Southland on Dec. 16.
“I think the one thing we can hang our hat on is defense,” coach Tim Zasada said. “We are very fast and can do a lot of different things defensively to cause people problems.”
The Rams’ defensive pressure on inbound plays helped keep the Eagles from running their offensive sets.
“We put a lot of work into our defense and make sure we do as much as we can to stop them from scoring,” sophomore guard Jocelyn Martinez said.
“Jocelyn is fast and aggressive. She might be tiny, but she is a strong girl that plays tough and we love it,” Zasada said.
Martinez said being a multi-sport athlete helps her on the court. She is a cross country runner in the fall and plays softball in the spring.
“Cross country obviously is running, which builds stamina for long games,” Martinez said. “And softball is like sprints and IQ and knowing where to be really quickly.”
The Rams had two all-tournament selections in Martinez and senior forward Alexa Pena Flores, who scored a game-high 20 points in the win over Southland.
The event also featured a Queen of The Hill 3-point Shootout featuring two players from all the schools. The shootout included a money ball.
Reavis senior guard Zuzanna Antoszek benefited from the moneyball and placed second.