advertisement

Marengo holds off Burlington Central

Burlington Central needed another shovel.

The Rockets spent the evening trying to dig out of a big hole they dug themselves. They almost made it out a couple of times, but couldn’t overcome the early deficit and fell to Marengo, 62-54, in Big Northern East girls basketball action in Burlington.

Jessica Laird scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half, and freshman Alison Colby had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets (8-10, 2-2).

The Rockets trailed just 54-53 after a basket by Colby, but the Indians answered with 6 straight points to put the game out of reach.

Central fell behind 8-0 to start the game. After clawing back to within 2 at 16-14, somebody put a lid on the basket. The Rockets made just 2 of 15 second-quarter field-goal attempts and trailed 30-19 at halftime.

The Rockets’ final comeback fell just short. They trailed 46-31 before scoring the final basket of the third quarter. Camille Dela Cruz, who had 13 points off the bench, scored 6 straight in less than a minute to start the fourth quarter.

That got the Rockets going on a 17-4 run capped by Laird’s 3-pointer that made it 50-48 with 5:13 to play.

But every time the Rockets got close, Marengo answered with a mini-run of its own. Molly Richardson finished with 20 points and Jessica Villie added 14 for the Indians.

“We came out and started really slow,” said Central coach Jenna Real. “They got an 8-0 run on us at the beginning and it was an 8-point difference at the end.

“(During the comeback) they got comfortable and realized they could do it. But Marengo does a great job of making a few changes and then coming out and executing.”

With Brenda Thasavong in foul trouble, the Rockets often went with a 4-guard lineup featuring Catherine Kaynish and Dela Cruz. Those two gave the Rockets a huge lift off the bench, as Kaynish contributed 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but they gave up some height. As a result, the Indians outrebounded the home team, 44-27.

Villie and Allison Rogutich grabbed 12 rebounds apiece for the visitors.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.