Kyles sets school record with 41 points against Addison Trail
Ordinarily free throw attempts by a player when her team is leading by 16 points with 2:41 left to play in the game does not generate a buzz among the spectators.
But when Larkin's Marlee Kyles found herself in that position Tuesday night in a non-conference contest against Addison Trails in Elgin, the home crowd was just as excited as if the game was on the line.
Kyles connected on both shots, her last of the night, to score her 40th and 41st points of the game and set a new Larkin girls single-game scoring record.
The Royals downed the Blazers, 60-43, snapping a 4-game losing streak.
"It's a school record and it's a personal record. She broke it last year with 36 at Streamwood," said Larkin coach Steve Knapp. "Marlee is tough to stop. You can press her, you can box-and-one her, but she still finds a way to get herself open and the best thing about her is, when somebody else is open, she makes sure she dishes the ball to them."
"She played really well, hit a bunch of shots and she ran things," said Addison Trail coach Rob Schader.
In the first quarter, Addison Trail (5-4) employed a box-and-one defense in an effort to keep Kyles from scoring.
The strategy worked as the Arizona-bound senior scored only 6 points in the first quarter, which ended in a 13-13 tie.
Larkin (4-4) responded in the second quarter by going to its running game, getting down court before the Blazers could set up their defense. Kyles scored 15 points in the quarter to help put the Royals up 30-22 at the half.
"It's always fun to beat your own record," said Kyles of her 41 points. "When we run - we are a good running team - we're all down the court, pushing the ball and we get layups."
The Blazers switched to a zone defense in the second half, but to no avail as Larkin pulled away, finishing the quarter with an 8-0 run and starting the fourth quarter with a 47-29 lead.
Addison Trail made a run to start the fourth quarter, cutting the Royals' margin to 49-36 on a Diamond Pikulyk (16 points) layup with 5:42 left to play.
But the Blazers were to get no closer as Kyles went on a 9-5 run ending with the two free throws.
Aaliyah Dixon scored 8 points for the Royals while teammate Haley Bohne chipped in 6.
Alyssa Pham notched 8 points for Addison Trail and Marie Baumgartner tallied 5.