Batavia wears down St. Charles East
Kevin Jensen's halftime message to his Batavia team Friday night at St. Charles East was pretty simple.
“I told the girls we have to make sure we get Hannah (Frazier) touches,” Jensen said of his St. Louis-bound star. “Get her the ball and everything else will open up for everyone else.”
That is pretty much exactly what happened. Frazier poured in 17 points in Batavia's 24-point third quarter, and teammates Jess Koch and Hailey Orman drained 3s while Bethany Orman and Shea Bayram found lanes to drive in the Bulldogs' 62-50 victory.
Batavia (16-4, 5-1) completed the first half of Upstate Eight Conference River Division play in second place, a game behind Geneva.
“We have a lot of people who can contribute with a lot of different things,” Jensen said. “Even if it is just a random 3 that Jess or Hailey hit at a big time, that's one more player you have to account for. That's a big deal.”
Frazier finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, passing 1,800 in her career as she continues to close in on Liza Fruendt's school scoring record (1,921).
“We didn't stop her at all,” St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra said. “She did what she wanted to. We need to have more awareness as a team where she's at, when to help. She's hard to stop when she's got that position.”
St. Charles East (6-12, 3-3) struggled all night with Batavia's full-court pressure. The Saints turned the ball over 22 times to just 8 for Batavia, which offset their 45-31 rebounding edge.
Morgan Erickson, Frazier, Bethany Orman and Mackenzie Foster all had 3 steals.
Saints point guard Sam Munroe had her hands full trying to split Batavia's traps or find an open teammate.
“Batavia had a great press,” Munroe said. “I give all the kudos to them. They push us down more to the sideline and try to trap then and there. You don't have time to react really.”
The Saints never led in the game. They tied it four times early, the final time at 9 on Munroe's runner.
Batavia ended the first quarter on an 8-1 surge, getting a lift from Elena Cabrera with 7 first-half points and a pair of steals off the bench.
“Elena had a great game,” Frazier said.
The Saints stayed close, trailing 24-19 at halftime. Kelly Rinker drilled a corner 3 that brought the Saints within 32-29 midway through the third quarter, but the Bulldogs quickly answered with 7 straight for a double-digit lead — all 7 points from Frazier including a 3-point play off a steal and assist by Foster.
The Saints kept battling, including Sara Rosenfeldt's putback on a possession the Saints grabbed 4 offensive rebounds. They made a few mistakes early in the fourth quarter as Batavia extended that 8-point lead to 62-44 on Hailey Orman's 3.
“We didn't handle the pressure as I would have liked,” Drumtra said. “They (the Bulldogs) are quick and they never stop.”
Munroe led the Saints with 17 points, Rinker scored 14 and Rosenfeldt had 9 points and 13 rebounds.
Batavia returns to the court Monday at Willowbrook against Fremd, the No. 2 ranked team in the Daily Herald Top 20 featuring Frazier's travel teammate and Northwestern commit Bryana Hopkins.
“They are a phenomenal team,” Frazier said. “We have to come ready to play.”