Girls basketball: Polo starts out strong, but is unable to stick with Forreston in a divisional road loss

FORRESTON – With a 1-15 record coming into its game with Forreston, an upset would be a long shot for the Polo girls basketball team.

With a lead early in the second quarter and freshman Alex Dusing having a hot hand, a glimmer of hope found its way to the Polo side of the gym.

Unfortunately for the Marcos, 0-for-14 shooting and 16 turnovers for the rest of that quarter and all of the third led to a 52-23 loss. It also led to frustration on the part of coach Jeff Grobe.

"We need leadership," he said. "No one wants to step up. Sure, we made a little comeback in the first quarter, but we take about every other play off. It doesn't help either that we can't shoot."

Once Polo went into its funk, the Cardinals' Danielle Hagemann made them pay. Of her game-high 18 points, the 6-foot forward had eight of Forreston's 14 points in the second quarter, as the Cards took a 25-12 halftime lead.

"She's active as an inside and outside threat," Forreston coach Brian Rahn said. "She's also our best defensive player."

It wasn't a one-person show, with Alexus Houston, Tia Boss and Allison Bondele making textbook passes to her for easy baskets in the paint.

"We don't have any height to play with them," said Grobe about the difficulty dealing with the three 6-footers Forreston has.

The best assist Hagemann received was from Courtney Timm, who was falling out of bounds and had the wherewithal to find Hagemann under the basket for a score. Timm (10 points) also had two 3-pointers in the first quarter to get the Cardinals started.

Ball-hawking Sierra Reining directed the offense and was a harassing presence on defense for Forreston. She had six points, while Houston added eight.

"We kept Polo off-balance using both man and zone on defense," Rahn said. "Our girls were very aggressive."

Dusing cooled off after the first few minutes and ended up with 10 points, followed by five from Cassie Bushman and four from Lexi Cox.

Polo, 0-8 in the NUIC, has only teams with winning records left on the schedule.

"It's a rough way out," Grobe said.

Forreston, which is at the Eastland Shootout on Saturday, moves to 12-10 and 6-3 in league play.

Girls basketball

Forreston 52, Polo 23

Star of the game: Danielle Hagemann, Forreston, 18 points

Key performers: Courtney Timm, Forreston, 10 points; Alex Dusing, Polo, 10 points

Up next: Stockton at Polo, 7:30 p.m. Monday