St. Charles North pulls away from Saints

Clinging to a 13-12 lead after one quarter, St. Charles North's girls basketball team continued to pick up the pace.

It paid off.

Led by senior guard Alyssa Hughes' game-high 21 points, the North Stars (8-3, 3-1) outscored St. Charles East 40-23 in the middle two quarters and pulled away to a 67-48 DuKane Conference triumph Friday night at St. Charles North.

Utilizing a pressing, trapping defense, the North Stars forced 31 turnovers.

"We felt if we increased the pace of play, we would increase the number of possessions we were going to get," said North Stars coach Mike Tomczak. "We felt we have some high-end offensive players so the more possessions we got, the better off we'd be."

Hughes scored 13 first-half points and connected on a pair of 3-pointers during the North Stars' 21-11 third-quarter surge.

"I have great support from my coaching staff and teammates," said Hughes. "They were telling me to keep shooting."

"Alyssa was fantastic," said Tomczak. "The moment was not too big for her."

After shooting just 4 of 18 from 3-point range in the first half, the North Stars shot 50 percent (6 of 12) from beyond the arc in the second half.

"We liked the shots we were getting in the first half, but they weren't falling," said Tomczak. "Our halftime talk was more about keeping the pressure on and getting our shots. In the third and fourth quarters, they started falling."

Reagan Sipla finished with 14 points, while Katrina Stack and Laney Stark added 12 points apiece for the North Stars.

Stack also contributed 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocked shots, while Stark had 6 steals and 5 rebounds.

"I thought Katrina Stack's second half was outstanding," said Tomczak.

Senior guard Julia Larson had 4 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and several hustle plays.

"Julia played the best game of her life," said Tomczak. "She was a monster on defense and on the offensive glass."

Sophomore Corinne Reed led the Saints (5-5, 1-3) with 12 points, 4 rebounds and a pair of steals while Alexis DiOrio added 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Saints.

"It has been a great matchup with them the past few years," said Hughes, whose team was swept by the Saints a year ago.

"I think we came out with a lot of energy, which helped lead to transition. We played great basketball all-around."