St. Charles North's size gives Larkin fits

While some teams might be going through a few January blahs, St. Charles North couldn't wait to get back on the court Wednesday.

A night after a 17-point loss to Geneva, the North Stars took out their frustrations on Larkin, building leads of 20-7 after one quarter and 40-15 at halftime on their way to a 71-36 victory.

Claire Jakaitis led St. Charles North (12-5, 4-2 in the Upstate Eight River) with 21 points, Lindsey Olsem scored a career-high 16 points, Morgan Rosencrants had 10 points and 8 rebounds, and Anna Davern chipped in 6 points and 8 rebounds.

Those four posts combined for 53 points and 27 rebounds.

"I think there was a lot more energy coming off a loss," Olsem said. "We were pumped. Against most teams we have a pretty good height advantage."

Larkin (6-12, 2-4) never led, falling behind 11-2 in the first 3 minutes. Jakaitis scored 7 points and capped the run with a 3-pointer.

North Stars coach Sean Masoncup said his team's ball movement was much improved from Tuesday. He went to his bench early and often, and Davern and Olsem replaced Jakaitis and Rosencrants and repeatedly hurt the Royals with high-low plays.

"She (Olsem) continues to work and get better," Masoncup said. "When she is finishing around the rim she's scary because she can leap, she can rebound. Once she gets it all together she's going to be a heck of a player."

Marlee Kyles, who didn't play in the first quarter due to team discipline, according Larkin coach Steve Knapp, led the Royals with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Knapp said Kyles will be back in the starting lineup Thursday. Haley Bohne added 7 points and 3 steals.

"They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight," Knapp said. "Sometimes when it gets out of hand early we set different goals for the game. I don't think we reached any of those goals. At the same time I'll never question our girls' effort. Our execution is just not where it needs to be yet."