Tigers fall to Timothy

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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:49AM

It was a game they wanted, but they just couldn’t seem to get ahold of as the Elmwood Park girls basketball team couldn’t keep Timothy Christian at bay in a 55-42 loss in Elmhurst on Saturday afternoon.

It was a case of too many chances near the basket for the Trojans that did in the Tigers as they dropped the Metro Suburban Conference clash in their only action last week.

“We allowed too many looks inside,” said Elmwood Park head coach Brian Linhart. “Whether it was drives up the middle, second-chance shots, or when they slipped Cassidy Block down the middle for an easy look, we just allowed too much offense in the key.”

Junior guard Joanna Bukowinski led the Tigers (6-13, 2-7) with 16 points, shooting 5-for-8 overall and hitting one of her attempts from three-point range. Junior center Carrie Pilman was active in the post contributing nine points while bringing down 11 rebounds in the loss.

The home side took advantage of the transition game early and ran out to a 17-9 lead after one and went up 34-20 by the halftime break. The Tigers shot 50 percent from inside the arc, but struggled in going 3-for-12 from three-point land, creating some long rebounds that allowed the Trojans to get back on offense quickly and get some easy points.

Overall, the offense was pretty good, but the Tigers did show some nerves when the Trojans put some pressure on them. It was the defensive problems, though, that wouldn’t allow the Tigers to keep pace on the scoreboard.

“I was telling everyone before the game that Timothy Christian works hard, and that whichever team works harder and does the little things is going to win, and that is what happened,” Linhart said. “I believe we match up very evenly with them, but they just wanted it a little more than we did. They’re in first place in our conference, but I do think that we can beat them. We just have to do the little things better on defense.”