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Hare stays hot, leads Bartlett over St. Charles East

Mackenzie Hare certainly doesn't play like a freshman.

The Bartlett first-year player scored 16 points including 6 crucial points in the fourth quarter to lead the Hawks to a 46-38 nonconference win over St. Charles East in Bartlett Friday night.

"Mackenzie is one of our young and talented players," said Bartlett coach Brad Hunt. "She had a good game tonight and made some big shots down the stretch."

Hare, who was 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists with 3 steals.

"It was a tough game," said Hare. "St. Charles (East) played us tough in the second half and made it close. It was nice to get the win."

Justina Hernandez added 10 points with 3 assists for the Hawks (9-2).

With Hare connecting on a pair of 3-pointers with 10 points and Hernandez adding 8, the Hawks held a 27-17 advantage at halftime.

But, the Saints (1-8) mounted a valiant third quarter comeback.

Led by 8 points from Alexis Kiefer, the Saints outscored the Hawks 14-5 in the third quarter and sliced Bartlett's lead to 32-31 after 3 quarters.

The Hawks seized control of the game by scoring the first 6 points of the fourth quarter on 2 baskets by Hare and a putback by Savannah Standefer and led 38-31 with 5:22 left in the game.

"We didn't play a very good second half," said Hunt. "We are very young and we made enough plays to win. Give St. Charles East credit they played with a lot of energy and got within 1 and made it close. They didn't quit. We didn't shoot free throws (9-of-18) very well. We showed a lot of resiliency for such a young team. We are off to a good start but our young players are still meshing together."

The Saints climbed as close as 41-37 on a putback from Gabrielle Schmidt with 1:38 left. But, St. Charles East couldn't get any closer.

Kiefer and Victoria Kortan paced the Saints with 8 apiece, while Ashley DiOrio (2 3's) and Schmidt scored 6 apiece.

"I certainly can't fault the effort from our young team," said St. Charles East coach Aubree Schuett. "We made a slight adjustment at halftime and played much better in the second half. We had plenty of opportunities to take the lead but we had too many unforced turnovers. Our success will come. We need to be patient."

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