No doubt, the central presence of Breanna Stewart was the primary reason why the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team earned a spot in the most elite portion of the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona.
Yet if the Northstars were to make any headway against the nation’s top programs, it would need something special from players other than Stewart – and that’s what it got.
CNS plunged into the Joe Smith division Monday with an inspired performance against Bolingbrook, from Illinois, and pulled off a shocker as Brittany Paul’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds produced a 43-40 victory.
Bolingbrook, a consensus national top 10 program, features senior Morgan Tuck, who will be Stewart’s freshman teammate when both head to Connecticut next fall.
It surprised no one that Bolingbrook worked its way to a 23-15 halftime lead, but the Northstars completely turned it around in the third quarter, giving up just four points and roaring ahead 28-27.
As Stewart worked her way to 15 points, CNS, led by point guard Abbey Timpano, took care of the ball in the face of Bolingbrook’s constant defensive pressure, and Sarah Bowles offered help on the offensive side by putting up 10 points. By minimizing turnovers, the Northstars gave itself a chance to win late.
In a tense, low-scoring fourth quarter, Paul’s five points kept CNS out in front until Tuck drained a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying it 40-40.
Though Northstars head coach Eric Smith had a time-out, he didn’t use it. Instead, the Northstars rushed it up the court. Bolingbrook again had Stewart covered, but that left Paul open to take a 3-pointer that found the net with 2.1 seconds to play, which turned out to be the game-winner.
CNS now moved into the winner’s bracket, where in Tuesday’s quarterfinal it would face Dr. Phillips, from Orlando, Fla., who beat Stockton St. Mary’s (Calif.) 73-55 in the first round for its 28th victory in a row.
This proved easier than the Bolingbrook game, as CNS played near-perfect defense for four quarters and Stewart found her offensive rhythm, too, helping the Northstars blow out the Panthers 48-28.
Everything turned in the second quarter, when the Northstars forced a series of Panther turnovers and put together a 17-0 run to seize a 27-16 advantage.
From there, the defense got better, holding Dr. Phillps to an astonishing 12 percent field goal percentage. And CNS put the game out of reach with 12 unanswered points in a stretch that spanned the third and fourth quarters.
The Panthers had no answer for Stewart, who outscored Dr. Phillips by herself, 29 points to 28, and tacked on 19 rebounds, all despite having two Panthers keeping her occupied and constantly getting knocked to the floor. Paul added eight points.
In Wednesday’s semifinal, CNS would play a virtual road game against the nation’s no. 2-ranked team, St. Mary’s (Ariz.), who is playing not far from its Phoenix home.
