Hot start sends Jacobs past Larkin

Jacobs came out on fire against Larkin on Monday, knocking down 6 of 9 3-point attempts in the first quarter while building a 20-8 lead.

The Golden Eagles cooled off after that and the Royals were able to close the gap. But they could never completely dig out of the early hole and Jacobs held on for a 46-39 nonconference win in Algonquin.

Mackenzie Leahy scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, and Courtney Durben and Courtney Pahl added 10 points apiece for the Eagles (3-4), who have nearly equaled last year's total of 4 wins.

Durben and Elizabeth Schwartz each hit a pair from long distance as the Eagles went ahead 11-5. Jacobs' offense went stagnant in the second quarter as Larkin switched to a zone defense. The Eagles scored just 4 points as the Royals closed the first half on an 8-2 run. But the Eagles still led 24-18 at halftime.

"I thought we all started to come together as a team," said Durben. "We were hot so we kept shooting them."

Larkin kept the momentum after the break, closing within 24-21 on a putback by Ashley Miller and a Baylei Johnson free throw.

"The girls have been doing a great job looking for their shot," said Jacobs coach Jonathon Reibel. "They're confident with their shot, they're letting it fly if they see it, they're not hesitating. We just have to learn to get back to that, understand that the shots aren't going to fall all game. In the second quarter we had a little dry spell, but the girls fought back. We're just trying to figure out how to get that shot back, how to get better looks if the 3s aren't falling."

Johnson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Larkin (2-6). Brianna Young and Aaliyah Dixon added 7 apiece for the Royals. Miller contributed 6 points and 10 rebounds.

With Johnson and Miller leading the way, Larkin controlled the backboards, 34-23, but were done in by 25 turnovers.

"Our game plan was to get the ball inside, and it was very hard for us to get the ball inside," said Larkin coach Steve Knapp. "They put some pressure on our guards in the backcourt. We've been looking for that true point guard, which we don't have right now. We just need somebody to take care of the ball up the court."

Schwartz finished with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists for Jacobs. Leahy added 9 rebounds.

Jacobs made just 1 free throw in the game, that coming with 9 seconds left in the game. The Eagles finished just 1 of 5 from the line.