Burlington Central handles St. Charles North

Burlington Central's girls basketball team is always ready for a challenge.

With the start of the Class 3A tournament a little more than a week away, the Rockets (24-3) enjoyed a tune-up against Class 4A foe St. Charles North during Saturday's Kaneland Shootout.

Freshman Elana Wells scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the first half while sophomore Kat Schmidt tallied 9 of her 13 points in the second half during the Rockets' 47-44 victory.

"It was a good game going into the playoffs," said Rockets coach Mark Smith, who once coached at St. Charles North before taking over at Burlington Central in 2012. "We don't get to play 4A schools very often obviously. They're a good team."

Wells, a 5-foot-6 guard, scored her team's first 6 points as the Rockets jumped out to a 15-5 first-quarter lead.

"She can shoot the ball," said Smith. "One thing you overlook as a fan maybe but I don't is great point guard play. She can handle the ball and she can handle the ball against pressure. It's something we didn't have last year."

Wells knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Rockets extended their lead to 28-16.

"She's a pretty special player," Smith said of Wells.

Schmidt, a 6-foot forward, scored all 7 of her team's third-quarter points as the Rockets maintained their double-double digit lead at 35-24.

"I think I was rushing a little and I just had to slow down," Schmidt said of her 4-point first half. "Elana made some great passes. She was on fire the whole game."

Trailing by 13 with 5:33 remaining, the North Stars (13-12) made a valiant comeback.

A 3-point play by sophomore guard Leilauni Chanthaboury (10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) and an up-and-under basket by senior center Anna Davern (12 points, 7 rebounds) pulled the North Stars within 39-34 with 2:45 left.

However, the Rockets kept their composure as Wells canned 4 free throws in the final 36 seconds.

Davern's buzzer-beating 3-pointer accounted for the final 3-point margin.

"We knew we had to do a pretty good job on Davern and I thought we did," said Smith. "One thing that we've got to learn how to do is play against pressure.

"I thought that pressure hurt us a little in the second half but we did enough things to get the win."

Anna Tate led the North Stars with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

"We liked the way we finished but when you put forth that sort of effort it's not sustainable for four quarters," said North Stars coach Mike Tomczak.