St. Charles East blitzes West Chicago early
St. Charles East girls basketball coach Lori Drumtra knows what makes her team tick.
“We are at our best when we can run,” said Drumtra. “Sometimes we forget about that so we've been working the last couple of days running our routes.”
The Saints (8-2, 4-1) certainly took their coach's words to heart, jumping all over West Chicago (5-7, 2-3) with a 26-4 first-quarter blitz on the way to a convincing 58-28 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory Thursday night in St. Charles.
Led by senior guard Katie Claussner (12 points), the Saints relied on their transition game to roll to an 18-0 lead in the first 4 ½ minutes.
Claussner opened the contest with a steal and layup, added a driving layup about a minute later and capped a fastbreak with a picture-perfect assist on Kelly Rinker's easy basket as the Saints grabbed a 6-0 advantage.
After Rinker (8 points) canned a 3-pointer, Claussner ripped the ball away from a sliding Amari Stafford and converted another layup before Wildcats coach Kim Wallner called a timeout.
“We knew West Chicago wasn't a team to underestimate so we had to come out strong,” said Claussner, who sat out the entire fourth quarter with the game in hand. “The transition is one of our best things.”
Senior Kyra Washington, who finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot, put an exclamation mark on the first-quarter festivities with a pair of 3-pointers.
“Their transition game killed us,” said Wallner. “We got totally outhustled tonight. They really push the ball. They have some firepower. They have some balance.”
Ahead 35-17 at halftime, the Saints outscored West Chicago 14-0 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 49-17.
The third-quarter surge included another 3-pointer by Rinker, 5 points from junior forward Hannah Vitkus and uncontested layups from Washington and Claussner.
“I like those kind of games,” said Drumtra.
How dominant was the Saints' performance?
When their 5 starters were on the court, the Saints outscored the Wildcats by a staggering 38-4 margin.
“We knew they were a very good team,” said Wallner, whose team received a 9-point, 5-steal effort from Stafford. “We're pretty young. We go in peaks and valleys a little bit.”
West Chicago played without senior guard Mae Elizabeth Gimre (sprained ankle).
“We played without our best player,” said Wallner. “She has been out the last couple weeks. I'm not saying we would have won the game with her but we're definitely missing her presence.”
St. Charles East received contributions from all 13 players, including reserves Kathleen Townsend (6 points), Chloe John (5 points), Gabriele Butkute (4 points, 4 rebounds), Samantha Munroe (5 assists) and Katherine Robinson (3 assists, 2 rebounds).
After facing Streamwood Saturday, the fifth-seeded Saints will begin play Monday at the 16-team Wheaton North Holiday Tournament against the host Falcons.
“It wasn't the matchup I was necessarily looking for for the first game,” said Drumtra. “They always play super hard and they're on their home court.”
West Chicago will face Harlem at the Oswego East Tournament Monday.