Batavia 3-0 after downing Metea Valley
Batavia faced a daunting height disadvantage Saturday evening in Naperville against Metea Valley.
"Going in, we knew we had to play fast," Batavia sophomore forward Geddy Rerko said.
Riding an explosive first 12 minutes, Batavia never trailed in its 47-38 victory over the Mustangs in third-night play at the Naperville Central Girls Tip-Off Basketball Tournament.
Shooting over 50 percent (8-for-15) in the opening quarter, Batavia rode the play of Rerko and the four 3-pointers guards Hailey Orman and Elena Cabrera combined for as the Bulldogs built a 20-11 lead after one quarter.
"It wasn't just the 3s," Orman said of her two first-quarter makes from beyond the arc. "Everyone had their head on straight."
When Stephanie Rodriguez followed up a fastbreak miss with a putback, Batavia (3-0) enjoyed a 27-13 lead midway through the second quarter.
"I told the girls that for a quarter, a quarter and a half, it showed how outstanding we could be," Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. "The last two and a half quarters was about us being resilient."
Rerko scored half of her game-high 16 points in the opening half to stake Batavia to a 28-21 lead over the Mustangs (0-3).
The Bulldogs employed a full-court press and punishing man-to-man defense in forcing the action throughout the game.
"We all worked together and knew what we had to do," Rerko said.
But Batavia would have its own offensive struggles in the middle of the game.
Metea Valley, which was led by the 14 points Brianna Hall tallied, took advantage of an extended Batavia drought to reduce its one-time 14-point deficit to two, 30-28, on an Ashley Konkle bucket late in the third quarter.
"We couldn't get things going like we wanted to," Rerko said of the Bulldogs' third-quarter struggles. "Once we got back into it, we got our groove back."
Metea Valley would come no closer the rest of the contest as Rerko had back-to-back field goals late in the third to give Batavia a 34-30 cushion entering the final quarter.
Metea Valley failed to score from the field for the opening five-plus minutes of the fourth as the Bulldogs used free-throws efficiency to extend their lead.
Rerko and Ava Sergio were the lone Batavia players to score from the field in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs, exploiting the Mustangs being over the 10-foul limit, converted 9 free throws in the fourth.
Orman and Cabrera both finished with 7 points for Batavia.
Konkle and Skye Lane were the Mustangs' second-leading scorers with 8 points each.
"We cut our turnovers down (compared to the first two games)," Metea Valley coach Cedric Williams said. "We have a long way to go, but they are showing improvement. We accepted the challenge."