Girls basketball: Monica Sierzputowski leads Dundee-Crown past McHenry

McHENRY – McHenry tossed in five quick points and hit an uncontested shot early in the first quarter against Dundee-Crown, which didn’t sit well with Chargers second-year coach John Gonnella.

Gonnella called a timeout, challenged his team to fix things defensively, and the Chargers responded in a big way.

Dundee-Crown did not allow any more points for the next eight minutes and 17 seconds, while its offense, led by 6-foot-1 forward Monica Sierzputowski, found its groove against McHenry.

Sierzputowski ended her strong night with 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks, and D-C went on to beat McHenry 47-22 in their Fox Valley Conference game on Tuesday.

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Dundee-Crown’s Monica Sierzputowski grabs a rebound in front of McHenry's Amber Bock during a Fox Valley Conference girls basketball game on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at McHenry High School. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

It was the third-highest scoring game of the season for the Chargers (2-7, 2-3 FVC), who had failed to reach 40 points in their three previous games (all losses).

Gonnella felt it was the Chargers’ effort on defense that helped turn things around.

“Just our focus and our intensity had to change,” Gonnella said. “When we do little things, we play well. Getting down on defense, getting low, moving our feet rather than reaching. Just the little things.”

Sierzputowski made five straight buckets in the first quarter and had 14 points by halftime with the Chargers up 27-8. Two free throws from Holly Waters with 5:53 remaining in the second quarter ended the long dry spell for the Warriors on offense.

Sierzputowski said the Chargers needed to refocus after giving up five quick points.

“Our game plan was to come out and be intense with everything,” Sierzputowski said. “Man up and just stop them from doing everything. Be intense on defense, prioritize defense and the offense would come.”

Sierzputowski, who will play next year at Oakton College in Des Plaines, looked unstoppable for big stretches Tuesday.

“There’s games where she knows she can score and she’ll go right at the basket,” Gonnella said. “Teams obviously focus on her. She’s got a strong enough basketball IQ to move the ball around and get it to the other post or guards. She’s a very smart basketball player.”

Junior guard Charlotte Stewart was second on the Chargers with 11 points and knocked down three straight 3s between the second and third quarters.

Stewart said Sierzputowski could have much bigger nights offensively, but she’s always looking to get others involved.

“Monica is so good she could score 40 a game if she wanted to, but she’s just so unselfish of a player,” Stewart said. “She’s so great at kicking out the ball and being a team player.”

Stewart’s second of back-to-back 3-pointers at the start of the third quarter gave D-C a 35-12 lead. Gonnella was thrilled to see Stewart have no hesitations shooting after a couple of off-games.

“I was maybe afraid of getting blocked, maybe just afraid I’d miss, I don’t know,” Stewart said. “Once I hit a shot tonight, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess this cold streak is over.’ I felt kind of unstoppable for awhile. I had to calm myself down and start to look for who is open again.”

Also for D-C, senior point guard Theriz Mercado and senior forward Mikayla Saas both tossed in seven points.

McHenry was led by junior guard Avery Stinger, who had a team-high 13 points and six rebounds. Lucy Jones added five points and a 3.

McHenry (1-8, 0-5) has struggled to get its offense on track early on. Its highest point total in nine games is 35.

“The challenge for us is to score,” McHenry coach John Lunkenheimer said. “I feel like if we don’t score early, they feel it. A five-point (deficit) feels like 20. We said at the beginning of today’s game, ‘Control your attitude and control your effort.’ And I thought they did great. They played hard the whole time, even when people got into foul trouble.”

Dundee-Crown has two more games before the start of the Charger-Komaromy Holiday Classic on Dec. 26.

Stewart was happy with her team’s effort Tuesday.

“We just realized we had to work hard if we wanted to win this game,” Stewart said. “No matter who we’re playing, we always have to play our game and be at our best.”