Sharp-shooting Maine East cruises past Deerfield

Maine East 60, Deerfield 47

THE SKINNY

Maine East closed out the first quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 17-10 lead Friday. The Blue Demons (12-5, 6-1) hit 5 of 6 field goals to finish the opening eight minutes of the CSL North contest.

TURNING POINT

Leading 25-19 at halftime, Maine East scored the first eight points of the third quarter to race out to a 33-19 lead. Deerfield (6-14, 1-4) would get no closer than 11 points for the remainder of the game. Three Warriors turnovers keyed the surge.

THE STAR

Elante Slowek had 18 points for Maine East to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals. The senior point guard’s quickness caused many problems, both offensively and defensively. She scored three of her baskets on fast breaks and two off of steals.

BY THE NUMBERS

Maria Protic tossed in 14 points for the Blue Demons. Deerfield was led by Haley Greer, who scored 18 points — including 10-of-10 shooting from the free throw line — while registering 6 steals. Margot Sylvan added 14 points for the Warriors. Deerfield held a 32-24 advantage on the boards. Maine East was 23-of-45 shooting (51 percent) from the field, while Deerfield was just 11-of-53 (21 percent).

QUOTABLE

“Elante has really been playing well these last couple of games. She’s finally shooting within her range. We had some good shooting. I’ll take a 50-percent shooting day. That’s awesome.” — Maine East coach Karol Hanusiak