High school girls basketball: Dundee-Crown beats New Trier at buzzer for 7th at own tourney

CARPENTERSVILLE – Dundee-Crown girls basketball coach Sarah Miller didn’t see the same level of confidence in her team’s play during consecutive losses at D-C’s Charger Komaromy Classic over the weekend.

So she kept the game plan simple for Monday.

“We just have to go back to what our identity has always been,” Miller said. “Outwork teams, play tough for four quarters, and let our hustle cover up our mistakes. They all agreed. We kind of got away from doing the little things.”

Trailing New Trier by four points with 1:13 remaining, the Chargers went to work.

Junior forward Alyssa Crenshaw fought for position and grabbed a loose ball off a missed 3-pointer, scoring on a 15-foot jumper and cutting the Trevians’ lead in half.

Senior guard Katelyn Skibinski forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play by New Trier, leading to two free throws by senior Payton Schmidt. She made both with 49.2 seconds left to tie the score.

New Trier’s Tinah Hong worked her way into the lane with time running out for the potential go-ahead score, but Skibinski was there to strip the ball away as she went up and immediately looked up court.

Schmidt was off and running as Skibinski swiped the ball away, and Skibinski hit Schmidt in stride on a full-court pass.

Schmidt caught the ball, bounced it once and laid it in with her right hand, beating the buzzer and ending D-C’s two-game slide with a 51-49 win against New Trier in the seventh-place game.

Miller raced onto the court and celebrated with her players after the buzzer-beater, and the team was still buzzing outside the locker room after turning a potential third straight loss into a signature win.

“I think this is exactly what we needed going into the second half,” said Skibinski, who had seven points and three steals. “The scoreboard was right in front of me. Right when I got the ball, I just saw her running. I just tried to lead her right [to the basket], and I knew she had just enough time.”

What Miller didn’t see in losses to Lake Park and Fenwick was back Monday.

“We just wanted to go out and play confident, and I thought we did,” Miller said. “There were moments when a lot of people could have folded. Being down that late in the game, I never saw any fear on their faces.”

Crenshaw finished with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds, despite facing constant double teams. She also had four of D-C’s 13 steals.

Schmidt had eight points, including six in the fourth quarter, and junior Arysia Harris had nine points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting. Cassidy Randl and Makayla Gotter each grabbed seven rebounds.

The Chargers (11-2) learned last week that three-year starter and point guard Gianine Boado would miss the rest of her junior season after undergoing ACL surgery. She hurt her right knee in the second quarter of D-C’s Fox Valley Conference victory against Burlington Central on Dec. 10.

Boado averaged nine points and three assists as a sophomore and was the team’s top 3-point shooter.

“Gianine is a really good passer, so we have to make sure we’re creating more and always moving off the ball,” Miller said. “It’s picking up those little things because she did such a good job of doing a lot of the little things that go unnoticed.”

Boado was back out on the floor during pregame warmups with her team Monday and leading cheers from the bench during the game.

“Gianine is such a great leader for our team, both vocally and doing the little things like taking charges and getting steals,” Skibinski said. “Everyone else just has to pick that stuff up. The best thing she’s doing for us right now is being very motivational for us.”

D-C will start the New Year with a one-game lead over Hampshire, last year’s FVC champion, and Burlington Central, last year’s co-Kishwaukee River Conference champion.

“We didn’t really play our game this tournament,” Schmidt said. “We shied away from what we normally do. Those two losses really made us reflect. It was kind of a wake-up call. We’re excited for conference and starting the new year off strong.”