Streamwood tops St. Charles East, now 9-0

For three-plus quarters Friday night, Streamwood’s girls basketball team controlled play, building a seemingly commanding 15-point lead over St. Charles East.

But the Saints (2-7, 1-3) responded with a 12-0 run over the next 3 minutes and slashed the double-digit deficit to 3 at 43-40 on Dani Asquini’s basket with 1:14 left.

They even had a chance to tie the game in the final minute before misfiring on a 3-point attempt.

Senior forward Emma Schmidt put an end to the Saints’ comeback bid by canning a pair of free throws with 35 seconds remaining as the Sabres (9-0, 4-0) escaped with a 47-40 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory in St. Charles.

“She’s the leader,” Sabres coach George Rosner said of Schmidt, who scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. “It was a great last possession (on defense) when they had a chance to tie it and then Emma came down and hit the two free throws.”

Streamwood, which won its ninth straight game, led 18-9 after one quarter and 32-18 at the half, and enjoyed its biggest lead of the night at 41-23 late in the third period.

Schmidt admitted that her team may have been caught off-guard by the Saints’ furious fourth-quarter rally.

“I don’t think it hit anybody until it was 43-38,” said Schmidt. “Everybody was a little unfocused when we were up by so much but we definitely picked it up in the end and held them off.

“It’s a very good reality check for us.”

Michelle Tomczak, the Sabres’ 6-3 senior center, added 16 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocked shots, while sophomore Jessica Cerda had 12 points. Collectively, Streamwood’s frontcourt trio of Schmidt, Tomczak and Cerda combined for 43 points, 32 rebounds, 7 blocks, 5 steals and 5 assists.

“We played three excellent quarters,” said Rosner. “At the end, they got a little momentum and we missed some shots we should have made that would have put the game away.

“When we had an 18-point lead, they (the Saints) could have cashed it in but they hustled, they scrapped and they didn’t quit.”

Freshman guard Amanda Hilton (game-high 18 points) keyed the late comeback with back-to-back 3-pointers, while Asquini added 9 points and 17 rebounds.

“We didn’t give up at all but we needed what we did in the fourth quarter to be all four quarters of the game,” said Asquini. “Our shots were finally falling and everything was finally going our way.”

Things definitely didn’t begin favorably for the Saints, who were called for a technical foul before the opening tip after taking a full circle around the court at the start of pre-game warmups.

“It’s a new rule this year,” said Saints coach Lori Drumtra. “You can’t go down to your opponents’ end of the court. I was aware of it but I thought we would get a warning.”

Cerda connected on both free throws to give the Sabres a rare 2-0 lead at the 8:00 mark of the first quarter.

But it was their play during the first three quarters that really crippled the Saints, according to Drumtra.

“Like I told them afterward, it’s great that you had one quarter where you pushed it and were really tenacious but that’s what we need for 32 minutes not just eight,” the coach said.

“We need to put four good quarters together.”

Something the Sabres have been able to do, for the most part, during their 9-0 start.

“We’re fulfilling our potential which is something we’ve struggled with over the past few years,” said Schmidt.