Rogers scores 45, reaches 1,000 in OT win over Batavia
Darrione Rogers converted a 3-point play with 4:39 remaining Saturday against Batavia, pushing her over 1,000 points in her career.
Turns out the Lake Park junior was just getting started.
Rogers caught fire down the stretch, scoring 32 of her 45 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to give Lake Park a 69-60 victory on dedication day on their home court in Roselle.
Rogers' 45 points were just off her career high of 49 earlier this season. Lake Park needed every bit of Rogers' heroics to overcome a Batavia team that also hit numerous clutch shots as the teams battled through 9 ties or lead changes in the final 4 minutes of the fourth quarter alone.
"It wouldn't have been the same scoring 1,000 and losing for sure," said Rogers, a DePaul commit. "For us to come back and win in overtime the way we did and getting 1,000 points is unbelievable."
Rogers has plenty of company in the 1,000-point club of high school basketball players. Getting there in 44 games shows just how talented the junior guard is - as did the show she put on over the final 12 minutes Saturday.
"It meant a lot to me," said Rogers. "Scoring 1,000 in front of all these people really boosted my confidence. I didn't want to let these people down. I just wanted to give it everything I've got."
Through three quarters Rogers "only" had 13 points, and had suffered through a cold shooting third quarter. She missed all six of her shots from the field, and Batavia's 14-0 run turned a 33-26 deficit into a 40-33 lead.
With Lake Park trailing 45-36 after a 3-pointer from Hailey Orman, Rogers sank a free throw, then scored a conventional 3-point play that pushed her past 1,000 and trimmed Batavia's lead to 45-40.
That seemed to send Rogers into another gear as she followed with three straight 3-point shots - all in less than 60 seconds and from well beyond the arc - giving her 12 points in a little over a minute of game time and her team a 49-45 lead.
"Once she hit that 1,000th point it was almost like the floodgates opened up," Lake Park coach Brian Rupp said. "I'm happy to let her take the team on her back in those moments. I'm not going to stop her from doing what she does."
Batavia had an answer. A basket from Ava Sergio, a layup from Kate Polick and another Orman 3 tied the game at 52 with 1:21 remaining.
Polick, Sergio and Golden made 6 straight clutch free throws in the final 57 seconds to put Batavia up 58-55 with 10.6 seconds left.
Rogers drilled six 3-pointers in the final four minutes of regulation and overtime, and none were bigger than her long 3 from the left wing with 2 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 58 and forcing overtime.
"I was confident, I knew I would make the shot," Rogers said. "That's something I practice. I had no hesitation, no doubt in my mind I'd make it because I'm the type of player that can perform when the pressure is on. It was a normal shot for me."
Golden's 2 free throws came with 10.6 seconds left. With the 3-point lead Batavia did not foul, and Rogers made them pay.
"I think we could have had it play out a little better in the final seconds to not even give her the opportunity to shoot that 3," Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said.
Rogers stayed hot in overtime, opening it with a 3-pointer, making 2 free throws and then knocking down one more 3 for a 66-60 lead. Golden fouled out, joining Allison Newberry and Polick who also fouled out trying to contain Rogers (16 of 22 at the free-throw line).
"She got superstar status from the officials today," Jensen said. "If you have a player like that that's what you want. It was tough when our three best defenders all foul out."
Lake Park (15-5, 4-4) pulled even with Batavia (11-11, 4-4) in the DKC standings. Sergio (17 points, 9 rebounds), Golden (13 points, 7 rebounds), Claire Nazos (7 points, 10 rebounds), Orman (9 points) and Polick (8 points) all made their share of big plays for Batavia - just not quite enough to overcome Rogers.
"We made some nice plays," Jensen said. "We hit some clutch free throws. She (Rogers) had a big finish."