Jacobs continues its road warrior ways at St. Charles East
Chalk up another road win over a quality opponent for Jacobs' girls basketball team.
Senior guard Maria Tamburrino scored a game-high 20 points and played a near-flawless second half while helping the Golden Eagles (17-6) rally past nonconference foe St. Charles East 47-44 Friday night in St. Charles.
Tamburrino connected on all 5 of her second-half field-goal attempts and her 2 free throws with 19 seconds remaining extended Jacobs' lead to 46-41.
Despite her offensive heroics, Tamburrino was more impressed by her team's defensive tenacity over the final 16 minutes, especially in the third quarter when the Golden Eagles limited the Saints (11-8) to 3 points.
"We wanted to step up our defense after our halftime talk," said Tamburrino, who tallied 9 fourth-quarter points. "Our defense is our strong point so we wanted to step it up so we could pull out a win."
Utilizing a zone defense throughout the game, the Golden Eagles made a concerted effort to slow down the Saints' high-low game after St. Charles East enjoyed a 20-13 second-quarter surge to grab a 28-24 halftime advantage.
Saints senior forward-center Kala Sigona scored 9 of her team-high 14 points in the second quarter.
"In the first half, they did a nice job of splitting the high post and we talked at halftime about taking that away," said Jacobs coach Ed Haugens. "I think that really helped us out because we started to take away the high post.
"They were hot in the second quarter (making 8-of-12 shots). We were hoping they'd cool off."
That they did, as the Saints made only 1 of their 9 third-quarter field goal attempts - a 3-pointer by Lexi Baltes (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals).
However, the Golden Eagles didn't fare much better, managing just 7 points of their own as the game was deadlocked at 31-31 after 3 quarters.
The Saints began the fourth quarter on a positive enough note as baskets from Jaime Rust and Sigona made it 35-31 with 5:30 remaining.
From there, however, the Golden Eagles tied it at 35-35 on a Tamburrino basket midway through the period before taking the lead for good on a 10-foot jumper from Sierra Dunner (8 points) with 3:32 left.
Jacobs iced the game at the foul line by hitting 7-of-9 fourth-quarter attempts.
"That was clutch for us," said Haugens. "To come onto their court and be able to get a win - that's huge for our kids. When it comes to regional (tournament) time, we hope this kind of experience is only going to make us better."
Hailey Cnota contributed 11 points and 8 points for Jacobs, which has won 6 of its last 7 and now owns a road record of 11-5.
"We beat Marshall, Oak Park-River Forest and Lake Park at the Montini tournament and we've had a couple other good road wins," said Tamburrino.
St. Charles East's desperation 3-point attempt that would have tied the game caromed off the backboard and fell to the floor as the buzzer sounded, ending a frustrating night for the home team.
"That was not a good game at all," said Saints coach Lori Drumtra, whose team committed 23 turnovers while shooting 38 percent from the field. "I wasn't impressed with our defense, I wasn't impressed with our rebounding, and certainly offensively it was not very good.
"Right now, what really sticks out in my mind is the poor passing. That takes offensive opportunities away from us. At this point of the season, our execution should be much better."