Rosary rallies late to beat Aurora Central Catholic
As Sophia Kramer put it, Rosary gave Aurora Central Catholic a taste of its own medicine Monday night on the Chargers' home court.
While scouting Aurora Central, Rosary coach Phil VanBogaert took note of the Chargers' 1-2-2 half-court trap.
That was the defense Rosary turned to in the fourth quarter, and it gave the Chargers fits. The Royals held ACC scoreless over the final five minutes for 53-45 come-from-behind win.
"When our coach scouted them, that's what they were running," Kramer said. "So we knew we would hit them with a taste of their own medicine."
Rosary outscored the Chargers 20-8 in the fourth quarter including a 12-0 run to end the game.
"We had to put pressure on them," VanBogaert said. "We needed a win. ACC played us tough, they always do."
Rosary (13-8) and Aurora Central Catholic (13-9) own near identical records, and their matchup was just as even Monday. The Royals grabbed one more rebound, 34-33, led by Kramer's 7 and 6 each from Sydney Drozdowski and Zoe Ketterman.
The Chargers finished with 15 turnovers to Rosary's 13, and the shooting percentages also were similar: Rosary shot 17 of 44 from the field and 13 of 19 at the line to the Chargers' 16 for 50 and 12 for 22.
Neither team could separate from the other. The Royals' biggest lead was 8 points, 22-14 only to see the Chargers go on an 8-0 run over the final two minutes of the second quarter to tie the game at 22 at halftime.
After trailing almost the entire first half, the Chargers pulled ahead in the third quarter. They took their biggest lead at 39-33 on Lara Anger's spin move in the lane that just beat the third-quarter buzzer, then Elsie Meier's basket on a feed from Delani Kosner to start the fourth.
The Chargers still led 45-41 when Kosner came up with a loose ball under the basket and laid it in with just over five minutes remaining.
But Rosary dominated down the stretch, starting with a drive by Ketterman. After Maura VanBogaert split free throws to bring the Royals within 45-44 with 3:10 remaining, Kramer's putback basket moments later gave the Royals the lead for good.
The Royals got the ball back and went to a delay game, stalling 45 seconds off the clock before Kramer found a gap in the defense and drove for a layup while getting fouled. She made the free throw to complete the 3-point play and take a 49-45 lead with 1:02 remaining.
"You look at the clock and there's not that much time left so you want to delay it but you see an opportunity you just have to go for it because we weren't up by that much," Kramer said. "When you know it's a good shot you should take it."
Four Royals finished in double figures: Katherine Danos with 12 points on four 3-point baskets, Kramer and Ketterman with 11 points and Drozdowski 10.
Kosner led all scorers with 16 points plus 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Anger added 11 points and Meier chipped in 8 points and 6 rebounds off the bench.
"We were doing good things," Chargers coach Mark Fitzgerald said. "We had a nice run. I'm proud of my kids. They deserved better. It's a heartbreaker to lose."