St. Charles North notches hard-fought win over Lake Park

Reagan Sipla "comes out ready to play," and her efficient shot selection is just a fraction of the overall presence she carries on the court for St. Charles North.

Sipla, a St. Charles North junior forward, scored all her 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in the first half. Alyssa Hughes then took the baton offensively with 16 of her 20 points in the second half to eventually pace the North Stars to a 58-50 win over Lake Park on Wednesday.

" ...[Sipla] is seeing the floor really well and this isn't the first time that she's carried us in the first half," North Stars coach Mike Tomczak said. "She just comes out ready to play every game."

Sipla, the 6-foot-1 combo forward/guard, focuses on "taking the right shots."

"There's a lot of times when the ball movement is so great, it's those in-and-out looks, and that's exactly what we're looking for," Sipla said of her efficiency. "So I think given that and with the practice, I think hitting those is usually what's going to happen when it's the right place, right time."

The strong offense then is followed up with her traditionally strong defense the other direction. Sipla feels it's taken a lift this season.

"Yeah, definitely. I've grown, too, but also time in the weight room [and] time working on that type of stuff," Sipla said. "Just wanting it. I feel like [that's a] real important part of my game."

The North Stars (9-3, 4-1) held a narrow 27-26 halftime lead, but were able to balloon it to as much as 14 with 1:13 left in the third quarter, largely thanks to a 14-point third quarter explosion from Hughes.

Hughes, a Wash-U St. Louis commit, was just 1-of-9 from the field in the first half, but was able to re-find her shooting spark that has often carried the North Stars over her four years.

"I think halftime is definitely a good time to just forget what happened in the first half [and] move on from all your mistakes," Hughes said. "Reagan had an amazing first half [and] shot the ball super well, so that got the attention of the defense and I think that helped me get more open shots in the second half. Similarly to what [Sipla] said with people driving, looking to kick off that, that's the shots we're looking for."

Lake Park (8-4, 3-2) wouldn't go quietly. Fueled largely by Michela Barbanente and Gabi Burgess on a brief run, the Lancers eventually pulled within six with 4:02 left on Grace Cord's layup, but Hughes later answered with a layup with 1:48 left.

The Lancers then went 2-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 1:23 of the contest and couldn't find one more offensive spark late.

Burgess had 15 points and four rebounds, while Barbanente had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Cord had 14 points and three rebounds and Alli Gogola had seven points and four rebounds.

Katrina Stack added 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for St. Charles North.

"Exactly what we just got done talking about: Cleaning up the little things," Lancers coach Brian Rupp said. "It started with things like cleaning up our passes or get a bounce pass; but then, when it's time to win a game, we've got to clean up free throws. I thought the turnovers and the free throws [7 of 15 on the night] were [an issue late]."

" ... We were right there," Rupp continued. "We shot 50% from the field; we won that stat. We didn't shoot enough of them, but we shot better than them from the 3-point line. They got us from the free-throw line and they got us turnovers. Rebounds were plus-four for them. Their defense is geared toward getting those turnovers so they can just make easy buckets, right? We talked about that. We've got to limit that stuff and hopefully, it's one of those things where a learning experience can happen."