Russell shoots St. Charles North to win
Give Sydney Russell a little space from beyond the 3-point arc and she'll make you pay.
The senior guard canned all three of her long-distance shots in the second half to lift St. Charles North's girls basketball team to a 48-39 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over cross-town rival St. Charles East (2-5, 1-1) Friday night at St. Charles North.
Russell, who also connected on all 4 of her free-throw attempts in the second half, scored a game-high 15 points while adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for the North Stars (4-2, 2-0).
Her first 3-pointer, part of a 9-0 run, gave the North Stars a 26-21 lead.
Her second came from the top of the key with 38 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 33-25 heading into the final period.
Less than two minutes later, the 5-foot-7 sharpshooter buried her third 3-pointer of the half and provided the North Stars with their biggest lead of the night at 38-25 with 6:41 remaining.
“We just moved the ball around a little bit better and made better decisions,” said North Stars coach Colleen Brennan. “We worked as a team better (in the second half).”
Russell, who misfired on all three of her first-half 3-point tries, knew there was only one way to change those numbers.
“Coach (Brennan) always says to keep shooting,” said Russell.
“You know she's three feet behind the line (on those),” said Saints coach Lori Drumtra. “I think the girls were very aware when she was near the 3-point line but she can jack them up from three feet behind (the line). That is hard to guard. She definitely came alive in the second half.”
When Russell wasn't on the floor, the North Stars struggled at times. After drawing her second foul midway through the second quarter, the Saints answered with a 9-4 run that tied the score at 19 by halftime.
With 6:39 left, Russell took a seat on the bench after picking up her fourth foul. Once again, the Saints outscored the North Stars 9-4 to make it 42-34 before Russell re-entered the game with 3:35 remaining.
“That's a good experience for the team,” Brennan said of playing without their floor leader. “They need to be able to do that.”
Taylor Russell had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, while Leah Horton added 8 points for the North Stars, who made all 15 of their free-throw attempts (the Saints were 5-of-14).
“We always work on that – that's our strength,” said Sydney Russell. “We want to draw a lot of fouls out there so we can get on the line and shoot. That's extra points for us.”
Dani Asquini and Paige Jordan led the Saints with 8 points apiece, while sophomore Laney Deckrow came off the bench to score 7 points.
“There were a lot of things I liked in the game,” said Drumtra. “Every game, I've seen improvement. If they give me that effort every single night, I'm fine with that.”
The North Stars' victory came on the heels of their dramatic 59-57 win over Geneva just a few nights earlier.
“We're excited about the outcome of these first two (conference) games,” said Brennan, “and we're going to go forward from here.”