Hinsdale Central rolls over St. Charles East

So far it has been an up and down season for the Hinsdale Central girls basketball team.

Saturday's fifth-place consolation game against St. Charles East at Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic could easily have been another downer considering it was just a day after Christmas and there is a long break in the schedule coming up. Instead everything came together perfectly for the Red Devils in a 72-44 win.

"We have been real inconsistent but that's the best basketball we have played," Hinsdale Central coach Tom McKenna said. "We got the ball up the court in transition. We moved the ball in the half court and found the open shot. I think every shot in our sets came after the second or third pass and sometimes more. It was a thing of beauty. I wish I could bottle it up and use it moving forward."

The Red Devils (7-6) had a balanced attack with three players in double digits. Riley Burr led the way with 20 points. Elle Chatterjee and Paige Barack added 15 points each. Hinsdale also was balanced around the floor with six 3-pointers and 10 baskets coming in the post.

"Everyone seemed to be involved from the get-go," McKenna said. "We were able to get scoring from everywhere. I think Riley has really been locked in the whole tournament and has become the person we really depend on to get us going."

Burr set the tone early with 16 first-half points, including a couple of 3-pointers, to help the Red Devils build a 37-22 advantage by halftime.

"We wanted to end the tournament on a high note," Burr said. "We were here anyhow, we might as well come out and play our hardest. I think this is great moving forward. It made us notice how much potential we have."

After playing maybe their best game of the season against Wheaton North on Wednesday St. Charles East (6-9) struggled to get anything going. The Saints shot just 16 of 47 (34 percent) from the field and turned the ball over 23 times.

"First and foremost Hinsdale, I thought, played an amazing game and deserves a lot of credit," East coach Lori Drumtra said. "They had everything working and on the other hand we did not. Their zone was very effective against us. We just didn't attack and get more inside touches as much as I would have liked. We just seemed a step slower today."

Sara Rosenfeldt had 13 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Saints.