ELGIN, Nov. 28 - Katie Stryker was Mooseheart's all-tournament representative at the Elgin Academy Thanksgiving Tournament and the junior guard proved the worth in her selection with a 29-point performance in her team's 51-39 victory on Saturday against Woodlands.

Stryker had help from her teammates but her 19-point first-half performance was one of the keys as the Ramblers improved to 2-2 for the season and took fifth place in Elgin Academy's tournament.

"She played strong," Mooseheart coach Bryan Miller said. "She played a lot of positions for us in this tournament. She played down low, up top and she was really versatile. It was good going into conference for us to see where we can put her."

Stryker was the only Ramblers player in double-digit scoring. Santana Sanchez added nine points while Cayana Samuelson added seven.

"It was a good game for all of our girls," Miller said. "One of the goals was for everyone to score and we came up two players short on that. But it was a good game and a good win."

Mooseheart only trailed in the opening moments of the game. By the end of the first quarter, the Ramblers were ahead 18-8 and the lead only dipped below double-digits in the final minute of play when Woodlands capped a rally to close to 48-39.

"To maintain the lead can be tough in a game like this where you play everybody," Miller said. "But we held them off in the end."

Allie Vela keyed Woodlands' fourth-quarter surge. She scored 10 of her team-high 19 points in the final period.

Mooseheart's six-game road trip to start the season continues Dec. 7 when the Ramblers visit Ashton-Franklin Center. The team's only home game in 2009 takes place Dec. 11, a 6 p.m. contest against Schaumburg Christian.


Mooseheart: Stuart 1 0-0 2, Thornburg 1 0-0 2, Dillon 1 0-0 2, Stryker 12 2-4 29, Samuelson 3 1-2 7, Molina 1 0-0 2, Sanchez 4 1-2 9, Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 4-8 51.

Woodlands: S. Vela 1 0-0 2, Nguyen 0 0-0 0, Cordova 5 1-2 11, A. Vela 9 1-4 19, Parrott 0 1-2 1, Ives 1 0-0 2, Lawler 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 3-8 39.

Mooseheart 18 13 11 9 - 51
Woodlands 8 8 11 12 - 39

3-point goals: Stryker 3. Fouled out: None.