ELGIN — Juniors Braelyn Martinsen and Mady Kurpgeweit combined for 37 points Thursday night as the Elgin Public-Pope John girls defeated Riverside 68 to 39 to start the season.
The Wolfpack’s 1-3-1 full court press, a staple of Coach Randy Eisenhauer teams, did what it was supposed to do – disrupt the Chargers’ attack.
EPPJ had 33 steals in the game, many as a result of the press, which were then converted into points.
In the first half, EPPJ outscored the Chargers 36 to 14.
Kurpgeweit was a force inside, making seven of 13 shots to finish with 17 points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
Martinsen finished with 20 points and nine steals in the game, just missing a double-double.
EPPJ 68, Riverside 31
Wolfpack………17 19 14 18 — 68
Chargers……….6 8 7 18 — 39
Wolfpack — Kayton Zwingman 0-2 1-2 1, Gentry Zwingman 1-3 1-4 3, Elizabeth Moser 2-4 0-0 5, Kinley Drueke 3-7 0-1 8, Braelyn Martinsen 8-17 2-4 20, Lillian Moser 3-4 0-0 6, Kinley Miller 0-2 0-2 0, Sydney NIewohner 0-1 0-0 0, Jael Lammers 3-7 2-3 8, Mady Kurpgeweit 7-13 3-5 17. Team totals: 27-60 9-21 68. Three-point shots — Wolfpack 5-16 (Drueke 2, Martinsen 2, E. Moser 1).
Chargers — Ella Molt 5, Michelle Esch 7, Emmee Reilly 12, Grace Mahony 3, Ryann Mahony 4. Team totals: 19 1-2 39. Three-point shots — none.
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 39 (Kurpgeweit 10, Lammers 8), Chargers 25. Assists — Wolfpack 12 (Martinsen 3), Chargers 11. Steals — Wolfpack 33 (Martinsen 9), Chargers 6. Turnovers — Wolfpack 22, Chargers 40.
