Foul trouble, Harlem do in Larkin
The numbers game eventually caught up with the Larkin girls basketball team on Friday night.
It was a case of too many fouls and not enough players on a depleted bench that contributed to a 58-46 loss to Harlem in second round action at the Burlington Central Thanksgiving Tournament.
The game was tied 27-27 at halftime. However, both of the Royals' starting guards, Marlee Kyles and Quixmia Washington, were limited in the second half because of foul trouble.
Kyles, who scored 31 points in a win on Tuesday night, was held to just 8 points this time around. She went to the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 2:15 left in the third quarter in the midst of a 9-0 run by Harlem that catapulted the Huskies to a 42-34 lead.
Kyles returned briefly in the fourth quarter before fouling out with just over 4 minutes left to play. The Royals trailed 45-37 at the time.
Coupled with foul trouble was the absence of two regular players off the bench for Larkin in Marguaret Kohler and Megan Storm. That left the Royals with just 8 active players.
"The foul trouble hurt us," Larkin coach Ruben Flores said. "(Harlem) was able to turn it into a running match and we had a tough time keeping up. We tried to have our girls slow it down some, but they are so used to going all out. They kind of got caught up in the fast tempo."
The Royals (1-1) shot just 3-for-15 from the field in the pivotal third quarter as Harlem outscored them 15-7.
"We tried to make some adjustments against their 1-2-2 zone," Flores said. "They played that zone real well. We were still able to get some driving lanes, but we missed some open chip shots that cost us. Then I think once we fell behind we started forcing it a little bit."
The Royals got off to a good start and led 14-7 at a point in the first quarter, but couldn't maintain it. Washington had 17 points, including three 3-pointers to lead the Royals in scoring.
"We just came out flat in the second half," Washington said. "They started running us and we just didn't have the legs. We tried hard. We just couldn't do it."
The Royals had no answer for stopping the Huskies' McKaela Schmelzer, a 5-8 junior guard who scored a game high 27 points.
"She was phenomenal," Flores said. "She put on a clinic on using both her left and right hand. And she really had a great instinct on when to take it to the rack and when to dish it off and find her teammates."
Harlem outscored the Royals 18-5 at the free throw line.