WINNETKA, Jan. 9 - Even though they hadn't played for nearly a month, Mooseheart's girls basketball team showed that it still has a knack of playing nailbiting ballgames.

The Ramblers tipped North Shore Country Day 47-46 on Saturday in their first contest of 2010 and on their return to the court for the first time since their Dec. 16 triple overtime loss to Genoa-Kingston in G-K's Christmas tournament.

"We had a considerable time off without any game play," Mooseheart coach Bryan Miller said. "Having a game like this kind of springboards us into next week, when we have two home games."

The game swung wildly early before settling into a possession-by-possession scrap. Mooseheart hit the Raiders with a 12-2 opening and Santana Sanchez led the way with 8 points for the Ramblers. The hosts rallied and took a 15-14 lead on a Kim Kahnweiler 3-point play midway through the second quarter.
North Shore Country Day had a short-lived 6-point lead in the third quarter, but for the most part the teams were within 2 possessions of each other the rest of the way.

"It feels really good to win games like this," Mooseheart's Maria Dillon said. "It shows that we have hustle in our play and we try to do our best."

Mooseheart was missing some players who were on a retreat. Freshman Erin Stryker, sister to junior Katie Stryker, was one of those moved to varsity for Saturday's game. She responded with 10 points in the second and third quarters.

"We kind of pulled from our JV players," Miller said. "Obviously she stepped up for us. She had some good ballhandling and kind of controlled the tempo quite a bit. Having her score some points at a young age helped us quite a bit."
Erin Stryker is likely to return to the junior-varsity but will do so with a solid first taste of varsity competition.

"I was a little nervous," Stryker said. "But I just went out there and tried my best. It was fun."

Sanchez led the Ramblers with 13 points despite not scoring in the second half.Cayana Samuelson chipped in 11 points while leading scorer Katie Stryker only scored 2 points. Overall, the Ramblers showed offensive diversity with 6 different scorers.

"Having so many players score is definitely an accomplishment for us," Miller said. "It gave us a better chance to win today. A lot of kids stepped up."

Dillon hit 3 baskets in the game - but her jumper with 1:40 proved decisive as the final points of the game. The Raiders had chances to win, including a final possession that started with 9 seconds to play. But the Ramblers survived.

"A lot of my shots don't always go in," Dillon admitted. "But when they do go in, I get this feeling of excitement. It really makes me feel a part of the team to be able to shoot those shots."

Kahnweiler had 15 points for North Shore Country Day.

Mooseheart 47, North Shore Country Day 46

Mooseheart: Thornburg 2 0-0 4, Dillon 3 0-0 7, K. Stryker 1 0-0 2, Samuelson 5 1-2 11, Sanchez 5 1-3 13, E. Stryker 4 2-2 10. Totals 20 4-7 47.

North Shore Country Day: Redzovic 0 0-0 0, Peccia 0 0-0 0, Morris 0 1-2 1, Kahnweiler 6 1-1 15, Hays 1 0-0 2, Price 0 0-0 0, Gray 9 1-4 24, Granger 1 2-4 4. Totals 17 5-11 46.

Mooseheart 12 16 8 11 - 47
North Shore Country Day 4 23 11 8 - 46

3-point goals: Dillon 1, Sanchez 2, Kahnweiler 2, Gray 5. Fouled out: None.