Burlington Central wins big on senior night
Burlington Central has certainly proven it can be a prolific scoring team in 2019-2020.
But Friday night the Rockets won with stifling, harassing defense.
Allowing Huntley only 7 field goals and 1 point in the fourth quarter, the Rockets, winners of 11 straight, squashed the visiting Red Raiders 58-22 in Fox Valley Conference action at Rocket Hill.
BC (27-4, 16-2), finishing second in the FVC in its first year in the league, celebrated senior night for Kathryn Schmidt, Liliana Moretti, Alexandra Lichner, Reilli Gardner, Zoey Kollhoff and Madelyn Menke.
"We came out with tremendous intensity especially on the defensive," said BC coach Collin Kalamatas.
"The seniors were really ready to play. We feel good about putting up 58 points against Huntley because Steve's (Raethz) teams always play great defense and come up with a great game plan. It was a great effort going into the postseason. With 11 straight wins, we have some momentum."
Holding a 24-12 lead at halftime, the Rockets seized control of the game in the third quarter, starting the second half on a 12-5 run. Central, which buried 10-of-20 shots from beyond the arc, got a pair of 3s during the run by Schmidt and Kollhoff and led 36-17 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Using subs in the fourth quarter, the Rockets blitzed the Red Raiders (18-12, 12-6) 19-1 in the fourth quarter in cruising to a 36-point win.
With 3 treys, Schmidt paced the Rockets with 16 points and 10 rebounds and is now just 11 points away from breaking Jenna Real's school scoring record.
"This senior night was a big night for the 6 of us," said Schmidt. "We were really hungry to play and end the home regular season with a win. "We were hitting shots and playing great defense. We have so many weapons that we are hard to defend. With playing at home for the regionals, we are ready to go."
Moretti added 9 while junior Elena Wells tallied 8.
Huntley, which made only 7-of-40 shots for 17%, committed 19 turnovers.
Kamsi Nwogu and Raquel Radermacher scored 7 points.
"We never matched their intensity on the offensive or defensive end," said Raethz. "We got outworked, outhustled and outplayed. It was our worst defensive effort of the season. They are really good with a lot of skilled players. Collectively, we have played great defense all season. Offensively, we weren't real efficient. We need to flush this one and push the reset button. We need to put this loss in the rearview mirror and circle the wagons. We need to have a good practice tomorrow and be ready to play Guilford Tuesday."