“We started working a bit harder and taking care of the basketball. We got some stops,” McDonald coach Amy Dolsak said about how her team got the win. “We weren’t boxing out very well and I feel like that’s where they got a lot of their points. We hung in there and took care of the basketball toward the end and got some looks that we made, that kept us in it.”

The Blue Devils were led by Molly Howard who put up 16 points and Olivia Perry who added 11 of her own, six of which came after returning to the game after briefly leaving due to an injury. Despite being shaken up, Perry continued to drive to the net, scoring four points in the decisive final quarter.

“We haven’t played in two weeks, and you could tell that. We weren’t making shots, but they’re [McDonald] well coached. They do a nice job, they make shots when they needed to,” Niles coach Doug Foster said. “We’ve got three or four girls sick, no excuses, but they’re very good.

“The girls at McDonald do a very nice job with their program. They play solid defense. We just couldn’t make shots, but we’re ready to get back into the grind.”

Special to Tribune Chronicle / Dianna Oatridge Madison Johnson (24) of Niles battles for a rebound with McDonald’s Sophia Costantino (23) and Maddy Howard.

The teams were tied at the end of each of the first two quarters. The Dragons’ leading scorers were Nae Fryer and Emma Dellinger with 13 and 10 points, respectively.