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Dundee-Crown picks up pace, blows by Cary-Grove

Though Dundee-Crown led Cary-Grove 14-11 at halftime, Chargers coach Sarah Miller wasn't happy with the pace of the game.

So at intermission, Miller instituted more of a pressure and trapping defense which she hoped would increase the tempo of the game in the Chargers' favor.

Miller's strategy and tactics worked.

Forcing Cary-Grove into 15 turnovers in the second half, D-C outscored the host Trojans 36-17 during the final 16 minutes in cruising to a 50-28 Fox Valley Conference win Friday night in Cary.

"We wanted to up the defensive intensity in the second half with our trap," said the D-C coach. "We wanted to dictate our offense through our defensive intensity. Our pressure limited their looks in the paint. They (Cary-Grove) got too many easy shot opportunities in the first half. That is credit to them. In the second half, we pretty much scored and got a stop. We were able to follow through on our halftime adjustments. It was a good team win."

Leading 20-17, the Chargers scored the final 11 points of the third quarter to totally seize control of the game. Payton Schmidt scored 9 of the 11 points including a 3-pointer as the Chargers (5-2, 3-0) led 31-17 after 24 minutes of the play. D-C forced 10 Cary-Grove (2-6, 2-1) turnovers in the decisive quarter and converted 4 into layups.

D-C's biggest lead was 48-24 after a putback by Kylie Ryza with 1:22 remaining in the contest.

Schmidt, who connected on 3-of-4 from 3-point range, scored 19 - 14 in the third quarter.

"Payton is such a high talented player we want her to be more aggressive on offense and take her shot when she is open," said Miller. "She can shoot the 3 plus get to the basket on the drive. She is a well-rounded player who really stepped up tonight."

Schmidt, who shot 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, dished out 3 assists and had 4 steals.

"I was able to read the defense tonight and get the shot I wanted," said Schmidt. "My teammates did a great of screening to get me open. We came out in the second half with more energy on defense and were able to get easy shots off the trap."

Gianine Boado added 12 points on four 3-pointers for the winners.

Maddie Jannusch was the lone Trojan in double digits with 11 points.

"For such a young team D-C plays with such good basketball sense and basketball acumen," said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert. "They were the better team tonight. Hopefully, our team can learn from this game moving forward."

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