Tough tandem leads Larkin past Elgin
When Quixmia Washington and Marlee Kyles are in sync with each other on the court, Larkin's girls basketball team is at its best.
The Royals' duo definitely was just that on Thursday night.
Washington scored 20 points and Kyles added 19, and they combined for 12 steals, as Larkin knocked off crosstown rival Elgin 56-33 in an Upstate Eight Conference River Division game at Larkin.
"When we work together we're like a dynamic duo and our team works hard," said the sophomore Kyles, who had 7 steals.
"We know we're going to get our points but it's a team effort and we get everyone else involved," added Washington, who scored 9 of her points in the first quarter when the Royals ran out to a 16-8 lead.
Elgin (2-6, 0-2) had a horrific night shooting, making just 12 of 55 (21.8 percent), many of the misses coming in the paint.
"We missed a lot of 2-footers; I guess we need to work on 1-footers," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales.
Elgin was hanging with the Royals (3-5, 1-2) early, trailing just 11-8 after Abby Pierre-Louis scored with 2:10 left in the first quarter. But she twisted an ankle right after making the basket and while the Maroons' senior leader did come back into the game later for a short time, she had to come out again and was on crutches after the game.
"My hats off to Doc and to Elgin," said Larkin coach Ruben Flores. "It's always an emotion-charged night and that kind of affected them some but their kids kept fighting."
Larkin closed out the first quarter on a 5-0 run and then scored the first 2 points of the second quarter on 2 free throws by Kyles after Maroons' senior Destiny West picked up her third foul. The Royals eventually stretched the lead to 24-10 with 5:52 left in the first half on a basket by junior Sarah El Rahmany.
Larkin led 28-16 at halftime and Elgin never got closer than 12 in the second half. The Royals' defense helped force 25 Maroons' turnovers, which along with getting out to the good start in the first quarter was a point of emphasis for the Royals, whose biggest lead of the night was 50-24 with 7:09 left in the game.
"Intensity is what we preach," said Kyles. "If you don't go out with energy you get scared."
Larkin's intensity on defense Thursday was built around going after the basketball.
"We try to get the steals and get the transition going," said Washington. "Then we can control the offense."
El Rahmany added 8 points for the Royals, who were 23 of 65 shooting and outrebounded Elgin 46-42, led by 7 boards from sophomore Margaret Kohler.
"Marlee came to me today and said, 'Coach I feel hungry,' " said Flores. "Elgin brings out the best in the girls. Q had it going tonight and the defense was solid. We pressured the ball, got a lot of turnovers and went the other way and made some shots. We've been working on our pressure and as the season goes on they should improve on it. We're small but we're fast and we should be able to do those things."
Junior Alisha Panthier led the Maroons with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Lakiya Harvey scored 7 points and Pierre-Louis had 6.
"Q and Marlee did a real nice job and Larkin dictated the tempo," said Bumbales. "It was a rough night for us. We'll just have to regroup and get back at it."