Burlington Central puts it all together against South Elgin
This was the game Mark Smith's been waiting for his Burlington Central girls basketball team to play.
Balanced offense, stellar defense, contributions from everyone - and a solid four quarters.
Four players scored in double figures and the defense forced 20 turnovers as the Rockets rolled to a 62-38 win over South Elgin Saturday in the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase at Fremd High School in Palatine.
"That's the best four quarters we've played," Smith said. "I thought the flow of the game dictated the tempo and the girls took it and flew with it. Our energy was outstanding all night and we made good decisions."
The Rockets (14-2), ranked No. 7 in Class 3A, used a diversified offense throughout the win. They got to the free-throw line 14 times in the first half by taking the basketball inside, then they made 5 of their seven 3-pointers in the second half while still getting to the line 11 more times. For the game, BC made 19 of its 25 free-throw attempts and shot 18-for-44 overall (41 percent) from the floor.
"We talked about getting to the free throw line more and we shot a lot of free throws today," Smith said. "That was good."
Central broke away from a 17-13 lead with an 11-0 run midway through the second quarter, when its defense helped South Elgin (11-7) commit 8 turnovers. Junior Shelby Holt made 5 of 6 from the line, junior Kayla Ross scored twice inside and senior Alison Colby added a basket in the paint to give the Rockets a 28-13 lead with 2:41 left in the first half. BC led 30-15 at halftime and the closest the Storm would come in the second half was 13 early in the third quarter.
"It's been awhile since we've taken those long 3s so we attacked the basket more," said Holt, who had 15 points and 2 assists, of the Rockets' first-half offense.
BC also commanded the boards, 30-25. Colby, who scored 11 points, had 11 rebounds including 6 offensive. She also had 3 steals and 3 assists.
"Alison was just a monster on the boards tonight," Smith said. "She was relentless and it was just a great game for her, and I thought Ross really dictated the tempo."
Junior Sam Pryor added 13 points for the Rockets, finding her shooting touch in the fourth quarter when she made all 3 of her 3-pointers. Senior Aly DeTamble added 10 points and Ross had 9 points, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Rockets, who have all week to practice for next Saturday's matchup with Divine Savior of Milwaukee in the McDonald's Shootout at Willowbrook. Divine Savior (8-2) is currently the No. 6 ranked Division 1 (large schools) team in Wisconsin.
For South Elgin, Saturday's game was as much about getting back on the court than anything. While Burlington Central had played a game Friday night, the Storm hadn't been able to practice or play since Tuesday due to the weather.
"We really needed those practices," said Storm coach Dan Mandernack. "Things just kind of snowballed on us today. They were the more aggressive team and our shots weren't falling. Burlington's a really good team. I like the way they play defense. Our defense usually gets a bunch of turnovers but the combination of our foul trouble and them being a really solid group of kids, we just couldn't battle back.
"We just have to learn from this and keep fighting forward."
Junior Bridgette Williams led the Storm with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore Mackenzie Kelleher added 10 points.