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Defense sparks Burlington Central's win over Rosary

It wasn't the best of nights offensively for the Burlington Central girls basketball team, but nothing was wrong with their defense.

Freshman point guard Elana Wells had 7 steals and also picked up the slack offensively with 21 points as the Rockets downed Rosary, 51-34, in nonconference action in Burlington.

Alex Lichner added 10 points for Central. Sophia Kramer led Rosary (14-10), with 10 points.

In the first half, the Rockets shot less than 30 percent, didn't attempt a free throw, were outrebounded 16-9, and saw Kathryn Schmidt held scoreless. No matter, they still led after holding Rosary to 15 first-half points.

"Defense really leads to offense for us, and if we get a steal on defense it's normally a quick transition, try and get the ball up the floor for a quick basket," said Wells.

"I thought we had good looks in the first half, they just weren't falling," said Rockets' coach Mark Smith. "Obviously, we were pleased with the 15 points we gave up in the first half. We talked a few times about what if our shot's not falling, and one thing you can always rely on - I'm not the first guy to say this - you can rely on your defense."

Overall, the Rockets forced 22 turnovers so, although the Royals shot over 40 percent from the field, they attempted just 33 shots.

Central, which played without Mackenzie West, who was ill, led just 18-15 at halftime, but more than doubled their point total in the third quarter. They started the second half on a 19-7 run to open a double-digit lead.

A 3-pointer by Lily Moretti and a basket by Schmidt made it 46-30 with 3 minutes to play and the Rockets (22-3) could breathe easier.

Schmidt finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds, and Reilli Gardner added 7 points for Central.

Sydney Drozdowski scored 7 points, and Zoe Ketterman and Riley McCue added 6 each for Rosary.

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