High school girls basketball: Morton gains early ground in West Suburban Gold

BERWYN – Morton senior Maryam Wilcher is listed as a guard, but in reality the Indiana State recruit can play any position well.

Wilcher demonstrated that Dec. 1 while leading the host Mustangs to an 80-35 victory against Addison Trail in a West Suburban Gold opener.

The 6-footer scored a game-high 22 points, sinking 6-of-10 shots from the floor and all 10 of her free-throw attempts, to go with seven rebounds and two steals.

“With her length she can be a difficult matchup,” Morton coach Joe Maietta said. “When we have the size matchup I like to have her [play] inside and go to work there and get to the free-throw line.

“But in the open court she can really create for herself. She can break a press if we need it.”

Wilcher scored her 1,000th career point in a season-opening 56-49 loss against Wheaton North, reaching the milestone in her 58th varsity game. She was feted before the Addison Trail game.

“It was very exciting and I didn’t expect all that,” Wilcher said. “They didn’t even tell me.”

More good things are expected from Wilcher, who is the third Division I player Morton has produced in the last decade.

“This year I’m a captain,” Wilcher said. “I just want to be as much of a leader as I can.

“I think a big goal is just to improve our record from last year. We really want to be conference champs and just do as much as we can to improve as we did last year.”

The Mustangs appear poised to do just that if their performance against Addison Trail (2-3, 0-1) is any indication.

Sophomore guard Jazmin Tapia poured in 19 of her 21 points, including four three-pointers, in the first half and added seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Senior Chloe Maietta added 11 points as the Mustangs led 57-17 at halftime. Alyssa Pham paced Addison Trail with nine points.

“We played really well,” Tapia said. “We shared the ball really well, we played defense really well.”

Indeed, Morton made 15 steals and outrebounded the Blazers 43-21 while making 19-of-21 free throws and shooting 44 percent from the floor.

“We went pretty deep in our bench and I feel like everyone just contributed and everyone moved the ball well and played good defense,” Wilcher said. “We scored a lot, actually, so that was good.”

The Mustangs went 0-4 in their debut at the Lyons Thanksgiving Tournament, but the losses were by a combined 30 points. They rebounded by beating Oak Lawn 56-26 on Nov. 30.

“I think playing that competition, when I looked at that schedule, I thought it was possible that we could go winless,” Joe Maietta said. “But I knew it would help us in the long run.”

Morton followed the AT win with a 66-49 victory against Lockport on Dec. 3 to improve to 3-4 overall (1-0 WSG).

Morton boys

After winning their first three games of the season the Mustangs dropped two straight, including a 56-53 loss against Hinsdale South in the West Suburban Gold opener for both teams on Dec. 4.

Nazareth boys

The Roadrunners improved to 2-3 on the season with a 76-51 win against Jones on Dec. 4. Nazareth hosts Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on Dec. 11 for the first East Suburban Catholic Conference game of the season.

Nazareth girls

Abby Shannon had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the Roadrunners’ 37-29 win against Bremen on Dec. 1. They followed that with a 57-53 win against Providence on Dec. 5.

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If you go

Who: Joliet Catholic at Morton

What: Non-conference girls basketball

When: 6 p.m. Dec. 15

Where: 2400 Home Ave., Berwyn