Erickson says hot in Burlington Central's win at Cary-Grove
Burlington Central coach Collin Kalamatas encouraged Page Erickson to be more aggressive in the second half against Cary-Grove.
The Rockets senior responded with one of her better performances of the season.
Erickson tossed in 18 of her game-high 23 points over the final two quarters, finishing 8 of 14 from the field and leading the Rockets to a 56-38 victory over the Trojans in Fox Valley Conference action Friday night.
Erickson outscored the Trojans in the second half 18-17 and missed only one of her last eight shots. The 5-foot-10 guard showcased her ability to score from both inside and outside, knocking down two of Burlington's six 3s in the game.
"There's times where she catches it on the perimeter and holds the ball for too long," Kalamatas said. "The defense gets set and her driving lane immediately shrinks. We talked to her about that decision making happening a lot quicker, being more aggressive.
"She showed what she is capable of when she has that mentality of attacking the rim. When she did, we really benefited."
It was the second big game in a row for Erickson, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a 51-30 FVC win against McHenry on Wednesday.
"The driving lanes were wide open and we just tried to keep the ball moving," said Erickson, who had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. "I saw a lot of open gaps to attack. Our chemistry was really good tonight."
The Rockets (12-5, 5-2 FVC) won their final three games at the Montini Christmas Tournament before break and, after wins against McHenry and C-G, are on a season-high, five-game winning streak.
Burlington Central has also been without one of their top scorers, junior Emma Payton, who missed the entire Montini Tournament with a sprained ankle.
"We were hoping to continue to build on that progress we made over Christmas, not looking for any kind of setbacks in our effort," Kalamatas said. "We wanted to continue that energy and effort that we showed we can play with at Montini, and I think we exceeded that.
"It's something we talked about after the game. That need to keep progressing and getting better every week. I'm just really proud of how they've handled the last couple of weeks."
Senior guard Sam Origel scored 16 points and made three 3s for the Rockets, also grabbing six rebounds in the first half. Paige Greenhagel had nine points, six rebounds and two assists, and Haley Lindquist chipped in five points, three assists and four steals.
Kalamatas felt Lindquist, who is committed to play soccer at Austin Peay, had a standout game defensively. The Rockets held the Trojans to only four points in the third quarter, turning a 28-21 lead at the break into a 40-25 lead going into the fourth.
"Haley defensively was so active, she had so many deflections for us," Kalamatas said. "She's always got great court vision. She's a soccer player, so she sees the court differently than a lot of other kids. She was feeding the ball to her teammates left and right."
The Trojans (8-7, 3-3) were led by Emily Larry with 20 points and three 3s. Sam Skerl had eight points and five rebounds, and Aubrey Lonergan and Annika Nordin added four points apiece.
Cary-Grove finished with 25 turnovers to Burlington Central's 16.
"We just had one of those funks and couldn't get anything to fall," C-G coach Tony Moretti said of the third quarter in which the Trojans finished 1 of 7 from the field. "They were hurting us a bit with their press in the second half, and we just turned it over too much.
"Ultimately, the girls worked hard. They go all the way to the whistle, so I'm proud of them."
BC boys 58, Cary-Grove 42: The Rockets (13-3, 6-1) shook off a slow start, trailing the Trojans (5-12, 2-4) 11-6 after one quarter.
Drew Scharnowski led Burlington Central with 28 points and 6 rebounds. Nic Gouriotis added 18 points and 7 rebounds, Matthew Lemon 8 assists and 2 steals and Caden West 7 rebounds and 4 assists.