Another Lake Park mark falls to Rogers
Lake Park star Darrione Rogers and her teammates had a lot to celebrate Thursday night.
Rogers, a junior, didn't start the regular season finale against St. Charles East because it was Senior Night.
Yet the DePaul recruit still racked up 19 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals, breaking her school's single-season scoring record in the process.
But that wasn't the most enjoyable aspect of the game for Rogers. No, that would be the terrific shooting performance from teammates like seniors Peyton Skalski, Kate Kirkham and Casey Darre, who combined to score 36 points in the Lancers' 71-44 DuKane Conference victory.
"Getting the win (was the most fun)," Rogers said. "My record, that's fun, too, but definitely the team comes first, and if it wasn't for my teammates I wouldn't be in this situation.
"It was definitely fun having everyone go out there and score like that. We played together as a team."
Rogers converted a free throw with 5:29 left in the third quarter to break Sam Arnold's school record of 714, which had stood since 2008.
The DePaul-bound Rogers is averaging 25.7 points a game and has scored 720 points this season. She has 1,181 varsity points, fifth on the school's all-time list. Arnold, who played at Michigan and is now an assistant coach at York, holds the record with 2,222.
"Honestly, I'm not surprised that it happened," Rogers said. "I worked really hard for it and my teammates trust me each and every night and the coaching staff lets me play.
"It takes a lot of pressure off and I can just go out there and have fun."
St. Charles East (5-22, 3-10) put up a good fight in the first half, but the Lancers (19-8, 7-7) sank 11 3-pointers, including 3 each from Skalski and Kirkham, who combined to shoot 7 for 8 in the first half.
The Saints led 17-16 early in the second quarter before Skalski sank back-to-back 3s to put Lake Park ahead to stay. The Lancers scored 25 points in the second quarter, including 6 straight from Rogers after St. Charles East pulled within 26-22 on a drive by Lexi Kiefer.
Skalski and Kirkham closed the half by hitting 3s to give Lake Park a 38-27 cushion.
"It helps when your teammates have confidence in you and with Senior Night everyone is so confident because we can all do it together," said Kirkham, who made 5 of 6 shots and finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. "We're all one big family here, so by boosting each other up, it helps a lot and that's what kept our momentum going."
These big shooting nights are nothing new for the Lancers, whose talent often gets overshadowed by the spotlight that shines on Rogers. But they are fine with that and don't mind living or dying by the 3-pointer.
"We shoot a lot in practice and we know that if we miss, people will have our backs," Kirkham said. "If a teammate misses, we'll all try to get the rebound, give it back to her and she'll put it back up."
Darre had 12 points and 3 assists. Skalski added 11 points and 3 steals for the Lancers, who also got 6 points and 5 boards off the bench from Emma Thorne.