Larkin wins opener for new coach Knapp
Larkin's depth and conditioning took over in the third quarter of Tuesday night's girls basketball season opener.
Marlee Kyles and Haylee Bohne keyed a long run that started just after intermission as the Royals overpowered Marengo 75-61 in the Burlington Central Thanksgiving tournament, winning new coach Steve Knapp's first game in the process.
The Royals trailed for most of the first half and found themselves down 44-41 early in the second. Then Kyles hit a bucket and Bohne converted back-to-back 3-point plays for a 49-44 lead, and the Royals never trailed again.
Kyles led all scorers with 27 points, Bohne finished with 12, and Megan Chwee added 11 off the bench for Larkin.
"If we're conditioned, the third and fourth quarter should be easier for us," said Knapp. "We practice conditioning, and in the third and fourth quarter, I feel our girls just took over. I'm not saying that Marengo wasn't conditioned, but we're practicing that on a daily basis."
Knapp also took advantage of a deep bench, with 10 players scoring. It didn't hurt the Royals' cause that Marengo's Marissa Knobloch quickly picked up her third and fourth fouls at the start of the third quarter.
The Marengo freshman was terrific in the first quarter. She scored 15 points in the first 8 minutes alone, including a 30-foot buzzer-beater that gave Marengo a 25-23 lead after one.
Larkin's pressing defense keyed the offensive outburst. The Royals forced 12 turnovers in the decisive third quarter, often converting them into easy layups. In all, Larkin forced 33 turnovers for the game.
Kyles also pulled down 6 rebounds. Samantha Wahl added 7 points for Larkin.
Knobloch finished with 19 points for Marengo after sitting out much of the second half. Erin Haeflinger added 15 points and 9 rebounds for the Indians.
The first half saw 7 lead changes as the teams raced up and down the court. Marengo used an 8-2 run to go up 33-27, but Larkin answered with 8 straight points to regain the lead. Marengo then scored the final 5 points of the half to take a lead into the locker room.