EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Parkland women's basketball advanced to Saturday's semifinal round of the 2018 Illinois Central College Cougar Holiday Tournament with a 67-61 opening-round victory over Carl Sandburg on Friday.
Emily Meinert recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead five Cobras in double figures.
With the win, the Cobras will play the winner of No. 11 Kirkwood and McHenry County at 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 29. The ICC Cougar Holiday Tournament Championship will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 30, with the third-place game preceding it at 2 p.m.
Trailing by 10 points at the end of the first quarter and by as much as 16 points early in the second quarter, the Cobras outscored the Chargers by 22 points in the two-plus quarters for the comeback win. After cutting the deficit to four, 31-27, at halftime, Parkland outscored Carl Sandburg by 11, 25-14, in the third period and held on for a six-point victory.
Leading the comeback was an efficient second-half offense that converted 53.3 percent of its field goal attempts, including five of nine from distance. Overall, the Cobras shot 45 percent from the field and assisted on 22 of its 27 made shots.
Recording her third double-double this month, Meinert made five of her nine field goal attempts, adding in two more points at the free-throw line, and brought down 11 rebounds. The double-digit scoring effort is the seventh this season for the freshman forward, tied with teammate
Crystal Mathis for most on the team.
Joining Meinert,
Olivia Babcock (12 points),
Gemma Recasens (11 points),
Micah Tapscott (10 points) and
Alexus Cole (10 points) also scored in double figures. In addition to their own scoring, Babcock and Recasens each dished out six assists each while grabbing a combined nine rebounds. Tapscott added eight boards of her own, second only to Meinert on the team.
Recasens' 11 points marks the fifth straight game in double figures for the sophomore, as the starting guard is averaging 11.8 points per game since December 5 after averaging 5.3 points per game in the season's first seven games.
