St. Charles East's upset bid slips away
St. Charles East's girls basketball team nearly knocked a team from the unbeaten ranks for the second consecutive game Friday night.
This time, however, the fifth-seeded Saints (11-3) weren't quite able to apply the finishing touch on top-seeded Glenbrook South (15-0) during their 52-46 semifinal setback in the 31st annual Bill Neibch Falcon Holiday Tournament at Wheaton North.
After a 3-point play by senior guard Katie Claussner extended the Saints' lead to 42-35 with 5:08 remaining, their upset hopes began falling apart.
First, Glenbrook South junior Caitlin Morrison answered with a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the Saints' lead to 52-48.
Claussner, who had 7 of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter, connected on a short jumper to make it 44-38 with 4:38 left before the Titans rattled off 12 consecutive points during the next 4 minutes to put the game away.
Glenbrook South's late surge included a driving layup by Morrison (13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocked shots) and uncontested layups from 5-11 senior guard/forward Carie Weinman (11 points, 4 steals, 4 assists).
"We gave up layups," said Saints coach Lori Drumtra. "We played too hard to do that. You've got to play better when it comes down the stretch like that and you've got to protect the lead."
How the Titans staged their comeback frustrated the Saints' coach more than the comeback itself.
"If they knock down the outside shot then you tip your hat to them," said Drumtra. "But to give them layups …"
Weinman, who also drew a difficult defensive assignment against the Saints' Kyra Washington (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) scored 8 fourth-quarter points over the final 4:36.
"We're working hard to put pressure on her and she gets by us, OK, but then somebody needs to step up and stop her from getting to the basket," said Drumtra. "She got to the paint and broke down our defense."
St. Charles East trailed 14-9 after 1 quarter and 27-23 at the break before beginning the second half with a flourish.
Sophomore guard Samantha Munroe (6 points) hit a 3-pointer on the Saints' first possession of the third quarter and freshman Sara Rosenfeldt (9 points, 6 rebounds) converted a layup off a feed from Claussner to give the Saints a 28-27 lead just 53 seconds into the second half.
Switching from a man-to-man to a 2-3 zone defense, the Saints forced 7 Glenbrook South third-quarter turnovers.
"We made some defensive adjustments," said Drumtra. "When they started hitting (shots) at the end, that's when we went back to man."
A 3-point play by senior Chloe John (7 points, 6 rebounds) gave the Saints a 35-33 lead with 7:36 remaining.
An inside basket by Rosenfeldt, a putback by Washington and Claussner's 3-point play gave the Saints their biggest lead of the night at 42-35.
However, St. Charles East managed just one more basket the rest of the way - Claussner's driving layup with 13 seconds remaining.
"It really kills," Claussner said of the team's rare loss. "Senior year, I would have loved to go to the championship (game).
"We did have them (the Titans). I think our defense is what allowed them back in the game. We went from a zone to a man and we lost track a little bit of who had who and they got easy, wide-open layups."
St. Charles East will face Downers Grove North in Saturday night's third-place game.
"We'll come out ready to play," said Claussner.