The premiere Sweet 16 tournaments have yet to pose a problem for the surging Fenwick girls basketball team, so why would the Joe Gentile Holiday Classic at Loyola University on Saturday be any different. The top-ranked Friars kept their perfect record intact with a 50-34 victory over 14th-ranked Warren.
Fenwick (8-0), who hosted Maine South in the second round of the Sweet 16 tournament last night (after deadline), took advantage of the absence of 6-foot-5-inch Sarah Boothe, who was apparently benched at the start of the game for showing up late to a pre-game shoot around. When Boothe did get in, the Friars made her obsolete, allowing the senior just eight points in the game. Boothe eventually fouled out late in the fourth, after the Friars had the game well in hand.
Alison Jackson led Fenwick with 17 points, while Devereaux Peters finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The Friars were also helped out by Holly Harvey and Tricia Liston, who each scored nine points apiece.
On Thursday night, Fenwick kicked off the Sweet 16 tournament with a 73-41 walloping of Johnsburg. Peters poured in a season-high 27 points to go along with her 12 rebounds and four blocks. The senior squashed a Johnsburg uprising in the third by single-handedly taking her team on a 9-0 run. Morgan Price came off the bench to add 10 points for the Friars, and Erin Power dished out 11 assists.
“Our defense has been the constant for us,” said Fenwick head coach Dave Power. “Sometimes I feel that our offense is a little up and down and I’d like us to get off to a better start, but the defense has been excellent.”
Fenwick’s unyielding defense held Johnsburg to a mere two field goals in the third quarter, and Warren to just seven points in the first period.
The Friars travel to Joliet Catholic Thursday (7 p.m.) and Benet Academy on Saturday (2:30 p.m.).
