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Big second half for Barker lifts Cary-Grove

All Katie Barker needed was a 10-minute intermission to regain her composure and her shooting touch.

After making only 3-of-15 shots in the first half, the junior guard connected on 6-of-8 shots from the field and 2-of-3 3-pointers during the final 16 minutes in scoring 19 of her 27 points to help lead the Trojans to a 57-36 win over Dundee-Crown in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division opener for both teams in Cary Tuesday night.

“I was really frustrated in the first half,” said Barker. “I was rushing my shot and was forcing shots. I missed way too many layups. I calmed myself down at halftime and played composed. I let the game come to me.”

Holding a slim 18-14 lead at halftime, the Trojans (5-2, 1-0) took over the game in the third quarter behind the sizzling shooting of Barker, who scored 12 of her team’s first 14 points of the half as the Trojans began the second half on a 14-2 run to extend a 4-point halftime lead to 16, 32-16, with 4:33 left in third quarter.

Barker, who drilled 2 3-pointers, connected on 2 layups and 2 free throws in scoring 12 points during the first 3:27 of the second half.

‘Katie was rushing her shots in the first half and tried to do too much,” said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert, “I told her at halftime to relax and take better shots, Once she gets comfortable with her shot she can get hot like she did in the second half.”

The Trojans’ biggest lead was 23, 53-30, after a 3-pointer by Chrissy Sopchyk with 1:33 remaining in the game.

D-C (1-6, 0-1) started the game nervous and sluggish. Turning the ball on its first 10 possessions, the Chargers’ first shot didn’t come until the 3:12 mark of the first quarter on a 10-foot attempt by Allison Michalski.

The Chargers scored their first point on a free throw by Kayla Lawrence with 2:05 left in the quarter. D-C, which missed its first 7 shots, got its first basket on a 12-footer by Michalski at the buzzer to make the score 8-3 after 8 minutes.

Despite making only 1-of-10 shots and committing 12 turnovers, the Chargers trailed by only 5 after one quarter.

Lawrence and Emily Michalski paced D-C with 9 points each.

“Consistency is the big thing for us right now,” said D-C coach Sarah Miller. “We just can’t put four quarters of good basketball together.”

Images: Dundee-Crown vs. Cary-Grove girls basketball

  Dundee-Crown’s Kayla Lawrence and Cary-Grove’s Amy Clemment and Chrissy Sopchyk fight for a loose ball Tuesday in Cary. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove’s Katie Barker tries to shoot between Dundee-Crown’s Kayla Lawrence and Francesca Scarpelli Tuesday in Cary. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove’s Maddie Priester and Dundee-Crown’s Jerrenka Baker chase a loose ball Tuesday in Cary. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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