Girls Basketball Narrowly Defeats Plainfield

SUMMIT–In their previous meeting this season, Plainfield's Chanel Johnson scored 39 points and Summit's Emily Cristaldi scored 31 in the Hilltopper win. On Tuesday night, the two players each had another impressive performance; Johnson scored 34 and Cristaldi had 30 to lead the Hilltoppers to a 68-60 victory over the Cardinals.

"We were up by 15 at one point, and then all of a sudden, it was a really close game," Head coach Brian Erickson said. "As quickly as we got up, we lost it. I told the team that we were like a palm tree in a hurricane tonight–we bent all night long through the wind storm–but we never broke."

It was a high-scoring, fast-paced game from start to finish. Although Summit's Cristaldi was heavily guarded for much of the game, she was able to shake free from her defender and score three long-range jump shots in the opening quarter.

The Hilltoppers trailed for the first seven minutes of play, but as the first quarter came to a close, a Cassie Hall jump shot gave Summit its first lead of the game, 12-10.

Once Summit gained the lead, the team never gave it up. Early in the second quarter, point guard Kate Martino drove hard into the lane and hit an open Hall with a no-look bounce pass for the score. Later in the quarter, the three-pointers came easily for the Hilltoppers, as Martino hit one and Cristaldi sank two. At halftime, Summit had a 29-23 advantage.

Plainfield's Chanel Johnson became unstoppable in the third quarter, however, scoring all 11 of Plainfield's points. Despite Summit's Box-and-One defense, the powerful guard kept her team in the game.

"She's one of the smartest basketball players I've ever coached against," Erickson said. "She moves her body well, recognizes a mismatch, sees the court, and can knock down the jumper."

Despite Johnson's scoring prowess, the Hilltoppers stuck with their game plan: they played solid defense, hustled after every loose ball, and looked for good shots on offense. Entering the final quarter of play, Summit had stretched its lead to 46-34.

Plainfield, however, proved that they had other scoring threats. Danielle Hooks scored nine fourth quarter points, including two three-pointers. Johnson continued to score for the Cardinals, though, and at the 2:30 mark, hit a three-pointer that not only brought her team within two points, 55-53, but also represented her 1,000th career point.

Summit's Cristaldi responded to Johnson's three-pointer with an "and one" layup and foul shot, followed by a Hall offensive rebound and put-back that stretched the Hilltopper lead to seven points, 60-53. Plainfield kept fighting, though, and after a few foul shots and a layup, cut Summit's lead to just one point, 60-59, with one minute remaining.

Summit held strong during the final minute of play, forcing a Plainfield turnover and sinking eight consecutive foul shots to put the game out of the Cardinals' reach. The final score was Summit 68, Plainfield 60.

"Once we got the lead late in the first quarter, we held on to it all night," Erickson said. "We had to sustain several of their runs, but Emily and Kate were perfect from the foul line in the end."

Thursday night's game was another well-balanced scoring effort for the Hilltoppers. One-third of Cristaldi's team-high 30 points came from the foul line, where she was a perfect 10-10. Kate Martino was 9-10 from the line and finished with 14 points. Cassie Hall had 12 points and six rebounds, and Kelly Osmulski and Michelle Burian each scored six points for the Hilltoppers.

"In order for us to keep moving forward and accomplishing success as we've defined it, we need other players to step up and score," Erickson said. "If they can do that, like they did tonight, that's a really good sign for us."

Summit faces Westfield on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Summit High. It should be another exciting matchup, as in their previous meeting, Summit won at the buzzer on a Cristaldi layup.

Emily Cristaldi is also now just 13 points away from her 1,000th career point.