28 | December 27, 2018 | The orland park prairie sports opprairie.com GIRLS BASKETBALL Home before the holidays produces win over Andrew JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor Home got a little sweeter for Sandburg’s girls basketball team. After eight games on either an opponent’s court or a neutral floor, the Eagles came home on Dec. 11 and suffered their worst loss of the year, 70-48. The second showing in Orland Park went much better for the Eagles. In what figured to be a close battle between two District 230 rivals, Sandburg gave its home crowd plenty to cheer about breaking out to a 31-13 lead after three quarters and hanging on for a 41-29 victory on Thursday, Dec. 20. Since the Argo loss, the Eagles won three straight games heading into the Hillcrest Holiday Tournament “We were hitting our shots and getting going right away,” said Stephanie Faro, who led the balanced Eagles attack with 12 points against Andrew. “Defensively, we’ve been working together.” Faro had 11 points in the 16-minute stretch of the second and third quarters, including a buzzer-beating halftime layup. Grace Badon added 10 points including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Destiny Antoine added eight points. The Eagles’ next home game will be Jan. 8 against Lincoln-Way East. Sandburg’s Destiny Antoine (No. 25) gets ready to fire a pass to Molly Nolan while Andrew’s Aniah Long defends in the Eagles’ win on Thursday, Dec. 20. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA Holidays at Hillcrest The Eagles opened play in the Hillcrest tournament with a doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 22. In the first-round morning session, Sandburg a dominated Thornton Fractional South. 52-18. Faro led the way with 13 points. In the afternoon championship bracket, the Eagles played Rich South even for 32 minutes in regulation but dropped a 58-52 overtime decision. Faro led the Eagles with 18 points and scored a layup with one second left in regulation to help send the game into OT. Badon added 13 points in the setback as the Eagles fell to 9-5. The tournament was set to resume on Wednesday, Dec. 26 with the Eagles challenging Thornton. If they win that game, they play for fifth place in the 16-team tournament on Thursday, Dec. 27. Here are your assignments The Illinois High School Association announced its postseason assignments and Sandburg will be in a 20- team Class 4A sectional that does not have a host yet. Sandburg, Marist, Thornton and Lincoln-Way West will each host regionals. Other teams in the sectional are Eisenhower, Mother McAuley, Bloom, Crete- Monee, Homewood-Flossmoor, Lincoln-Way East, Thorton Fractional South, Bremen, Lincoln-Way Central, Oak Lawn, Richards, Shepard, Stagg, Thornwood and Andrew. The winner heads to the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional. The seeds are expected to be released on Jan. 31. As of now, the top team appears to be Mother McAuley. BOYS BASKETBALL Eagles flew into Elmhurst as winners TIM CRONIN, Freelance Reporter When Sandburg scored a 60-50 victory over District 230 rival Andrew on Dec. 18, it brought the Eagles back to .500 for the season. They were 6-6 entering the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament at York in Elmhurst, which opened on Wednesday, Dec. 26. They had a modicum of confidence, and a bit of momentum. Some of the good vibes came from a basic: Sandburg hit 7-of-11 free throws after back-to-back games making only 2-of-9. “Yeah, 64 percent is an improvement for us,” coach Todd Allen said with a chuckle. “But we were up 17 points in the second half, and I’ll give our kids credit. They started fouling but we made some free-throws.” A flurry of three-pointers closed the gap for Andrew, but both Zach Kusper and Atharva Atreya were 3-of- 4 from the line in the final quarter. Even better for Sandburg, the Eagles shot 24-of-37 (64.8 percent) from the field, shaking off the reputation of being so-so shooters for a second game in succession. They were 19-of-41 (46.3 percent) in beating Crete- Monee. Just like old times The game marked the resumption of the Sandburg- Andrew series after a year off. The Thunderbolts are in the SouthWest Suburban Red, the Eagles in the Blue, and the crossover game varies from year to year. Sandburg’s crossover foe this year was Thornton, so Allen and Andrew coach David Wilson lined up a game. “A good district rivalry win,” Allen said. “It was good to get them back on the schedule. I talked to Dave and said it’s great when we play each other. I’m happy to be able to do that.” Stat of the week Through the first 12 games, Sandburg twins Marvin and Kevin Agwomoh were tied in scoring with 135 points - 11.3 per game. Conference heats up Sandburg returns to SouthWest Blue play on Jan. 8 at Bolingbrook, which was 6-2 entering holiday play. The Raiders, while a perennial threat, are thus beatable, and that’s a common theme in the league. Lockport was 7-2, Homewood- Flossmoor 5-2 entering the holidays. That’s good but not dominant. Or is it? Allen’s not so sure. “Bolingbrook’s losses are to two good out-of-state teams, and one of H-F’s is to No. 1 Bloom,” Allen said. The big surprise in the league so far is Lincoln-Way East, which was 5-6 after a 55-54 overtime win in a crossover game against Lincoln-Way Central, and 1-1 in conference play. But the league win was over Sandburg, and that stuck in the collective craw of the Eagles through their last two games prior to Christmas. “That was still kind of gnawing at us,” Allen said. “One of our goals is finishing in the Top 3 in the conference.” Sandburg twins Kevin (left) and Marvin Agwomoh are putting up twin scoring numbers, as both averaged 11.3 points per game in the Eagles’ first 12 games. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
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