Girls basketball/Fox Valley roundup
Burlington Central 35, Rockford Christian 34: Sophomore Sam Pryor made a free throw with no time left on the clock as the Rockets hung on for their 19th straight Big Northern East win. Central (15-3, 6-0) scored the first 15 points of the game before struggling to find the basket the rest of the night. Rockford Christian closed the gap to 19-13 at halftime and 25-22 by the end of the third quarter before there were six lead changes and two ties in the fourth quarter. Shelby Holt led BC with 10 points. Pryor had 6, while Alison Colby and Becca Gerke added 5 each. The Rockets travel to WIllowbrook today to take on Class 4A power Fremd (16-2) at the McDonald’s Shootout.
Westminster Christian 75, Elgin 44: The Warriors (17-2) notched their third-straight win and clinched the Elgin City Classic championship behind McKaila Hays’ game-high 21 points on 3 3-pointers. Maddie Versluys poured in 18 points and had 9 rebounds while Claire Speweik turned in a 6-point, 16-rebound effort. Ahead by 1 point midway through the second quarter, Westminster outscored the Maroons 54-24 until the final buzzer. Melanie Berg led Elgin (6-12) with 15 points while Anna Eckholm and Abby Pierre-Louis each chipped in 12.
St. Edward 72, Aurora Central Catholic 62: The Green Wave (12-7, 4-2) fought off a furious, fourth quarter rally by the Chargers to earn a Suburban Christian Blue road win. Maddie Spagnola finished with a game-high 19 points (7-of-7 at the foul line) while Katie Swanson managed 16 points. Clarissa Ramos and Katie Castoro each added 10. ACC trailed by as many as 22 in the third quarter and cut the Wave lead to 7 under 4 minutes to play. But St. Edward averted the crisis by knocking down 13 of 16 from the charity stripe in the fourth to preserve the win.
Harvest Christian 51, Elgin Academy 18: Coming off a win at IMSA Thursday night, the Lions were able to handle the back-to-back, picking up a win in a rout during the Elgin City Classic at Elgin. The Lions (9-7) were able to use another big night from junior Kylee Knox in a game that looked to be over after the first quarter. Leading the area with 21.5 points per game, Knox poured in 20 while picking up 4 assists and 5 steals. Rachel Oostdyk and Morgan Lockwood also contributed with 12 and 11 points respectively for the Lions, who will next play on Monday against Westminster in the final game of the Elgin City Classic.
Praire Ridge 60, Jacobs 42: Down by 18 at the half, the Golden Eagles (4-16, 2-5), despite hitting 9 3-pointers on the night, could not fight their way back into the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division contest at home. After a 2-point first quarter, the Golden Eagles were able to find the find the bottom of the basket more consistently, scoring in double-figures the rest of the way. Jennifer Barnec and Tiffany Frighetto led Jacobs with 7 points apiece and got to the foul line a combined 10 times, hitting a total of 7 free-throws.
CL Central 46, Hampshire 31: In Fox Valley Conference Fox Division action, the Whip-Purs (7-11, 2-5) dropped their second meeting with the Tigers by the same exact score as the Dec. 10 loss at CL Central. Emma Benoit scored 7 of her team-high 9 points in the first quarter, when Hampshire held a 13-8 lead. Benoit tallied 7 rebounds as well and Tricia Dumoulin added 8 points and 3 steals but a 21-4 second quarter by CLC was the difference.
Crystal Lake South 68, Dundee-Crown: The Gators (12-7, 4-2) used a pair of 20-point plus quarters in the second half to secure the win over the visiting Chargers (6-17, 1-6) in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division. It also helped the Gators to have Sara Mickow on the floor. Mickow scored 25 points while snaring 19 rebounds and grabbing 4 steals, helping South beat D-C for the second time in less than a month.