York held Downers Grove North star guard Campbell Thulin scoreless until late in the third quarter Saturday.
It didn’t do the Dukes any good. Ady Fanta and Caitlin Sandridge made sure of that.
Fanta, a senior forward, and Sandridge, a sophomore guard, each sank a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, and Thulin later followed suit to lift the host Trojans to a 41-26 West Suburban Conference Silver Division win.
The Trojans (22-2, 9-1) have now won eight straight games and retain sole possession of first place in the conference.
“I think it’s just us working together,” Fanta said. “We know that we can trust each other.
“Campbell is a huge part of us and she helps get us going, but she’s able to affect the game in different ways. Maybe she wasn’t scoring, but she was getting her teammates open. They were very concerned about her, so we were able to play off of her, and that’s what we did.”
The Trojans never trailed after using an 8-0 run to take an 8-1 lead, but York (11-10, 3-6) didn’t make things easy. The Dukes played gritty defense and focused on preventing Thulin from getting open looks.
The visitors pulled within 23-20 on a basket by Ellie Kehoe, but Thulin assisted on a 3 by Sandridge, who then returned the favor on the next possession. Thulin’s 3 at the 2:14 mark of the third quarter were her first points of the game.
But the Dukes went on a 7-0 run, bridging the third and fourth quarters, to cut the deficit to 26-24.
That’s when Fanta, a Northern Michigan commit who led all scorers with 14 points, sank a pair of wide-open 3-pointers from the left wing sandwiched around an inside basket from York’s Olivia Silkaitis. Freshman Eva Yerkovich assisted on Fanta’s first 3-pointer, while Thulin did the honors on the second.
“I just knew it was a big moment,” Fanta said. “The first time was probably not the shot I should have taken, but I just had the confidence to take it.
“And then the second one, my teammates just trusted me enough. They got me to a good place on the floor and got me the ball. The confidence they had in me gave me the confidence to shoot.”
Fanta’s second 3 was the beginning of a game-ending 12-0 run as they shut out the Dukes over the final 6:30.
“We had two straight possessions where we got traps, and they got it out of the traps and got open 3s,” York coach Brandon Collings said. “At that point, it’s Downers, so you know you’re not going to get much offensively ... you’ve got to pick up the pressure defensively.
“They only way to get them is to score your points when you get a chance and jump on them defensively.”
Kayla Callahan scored six points to lead the Dukes, who did force 21 turnovers.
“Every one of those girls left everything they had out there,” Collings said. “That’s all you can ask for.”
Thulin finished with seven points, a game-high nine rebounds and led all players with five assists. Two of her assists set up 3-pointers by Sandridge, who tallied all nine of her points from beyond the arc.
Sandridge’s last 3 was a dagger from the right corner off a feed from senior Gianna Goodwin that made it 35-26 with 4:15 left in the game.
“I just took a deep breath before Gianna passed me the ball,” Sandridge said. “I knew I was going to be open. No one was around me, so it was just having the confidence to actually shoot it.”
Millikin-bound senior center Elizabeth Murphy racked up all of her six points and eight rebounds in the first half, while Yerkovich chipped in five points, seven boards and two steals for the Trojans.
“It was a tough, physical game,” Downers North coach Stephan Bolt said. “We’ve had quite a few games where teams try to take away Campbell and it’s a nice peace of mind to say we have some other kids that can make plays, too.”