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Burlington Central burries Johnsburg with 29-0 run

Johnsburg came into its battle of Big Northern East girls basketball unbeatens at Burlington Central Tuesday with a sparkling 15-1 record.

The Rockets made the Skyhawks look like an overwhelmed 1-15 team.

No. 10 Burlington Central hit Johnsburg with 29 unanswered points - including a 24-0 knockout punch to start the second half - on its way to a convincing 64-37 victory.

"That was a third quarter for the ages," Rockets coach Mark Smith said as his team turned a 27-20 halftime lead into a 51-20 blowout.

"Johnsburg is right there with us in the conference and I thought we made quite a statement tonight. Very impressive."

The Rockets (12-1, 4-0) won their 42nd straight conference game. Sam Pryor led with 18 points. Kayla Ross and Shelby Holt both scored 16, and Rebecca Gerke added 8.

"I think our defense really set the table," said Ross, who had 8 of the team's 18 steals. "From the beginning of the game we had to come out with a bunch of intensity. Being up 7 at halftime I thought we came out in the third quarter and knew we wanted it and put it all out there."

Johnsburg (15-2, 3-1) fought back from an early 11-2 deficit to get within 13-10 after one quarter, then rallied from 23-12 down to 23-20 with 2 minutes left in the first half.

The Skyhawks, who didn't play a senior and had 2 freshmen and 3 sophomores in their rotation, wouldn't score again until :49.6 in the third quarter. Ross beat the first-half buzzer with a bucket down low, then Holt opened the second half with a pair of corner 3-pointers.

Johnsburg coach Brad Frey called 2 timeouts but it did nothing to slow the Rockets who started scoring in transition as their defense created several run-outs.

"Burlington plays much better defense than the other handful of teams we've played this year," said Frey, whose only other loss came to Fremd. "They were in your face and did a really good job and I think it wore our girls down mentally and physically."

Gerke followed Holt's 3s with a conventional 3-point play. Pryor nailed a 3, then Ross scored 6 quick points on layups as the lead swelled to 47-20.

"I thought we turned the screws up defensively," Smith said. "I thought we had more patience offensively, got easier shots. That is a really good team and we knew we were going to have a test. The five seniors especially are determined. They haven't lost a conference game in three years."

Aannah Interrante and freshman Morgan Madsen led Johnsburg with 9 points.

"I thought the first two quarters were awesome but that third quarter hurt," Frey said. "I don't know what happened in that third quarter. I'm going to go home and stay up late and watch this again and see if I can figure it out. We'll be better the next time."

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