Hare sets 3-point record as Bartlett downs St. Charles East

She's a senior, but count Kaitlin Brohan a big fan of sophomore Kayla Hare.

And why not? The Bartlett underclassman had the touch from beyond the 3-point arc Thursday, setting a school record for long-distance shots in a 76-57 Upstate Eight crossover girls basketball victory over St. Charles East. She hit 7 of 9 3-pointers and a game-high 23 points to help the Hawks improve to 14-7 overall.

"She's always been a great shooter since the beginning," said Brohan, who scored 20 points herself. "She's done what she's always done best, so it's a great opportunity for her."

Hare, who now has 42 3-pointers this season, simply deflected the praise.

"Everybody just set really good screens to get me open," she said. "It kind of helped me that everyone else was shooting well, too, so they couldn't just come at me, they had to guard everybody."

"I'm very proud of Kayla," added her coach, Dave Mello, who saw his team shoot 51.8 percent (28-for-54) en route to a season-high point total. "I know last year as a freshman she had 27, so she'll double her total from last year, and she's a threat from there. "

It didn't take long for Hare to assert herself Tuesday, dropping 3 treys in the first 3:43 of the game, and her fourth, from the left arc with 1:53 left in the half, gave her team a comfortable 34-28 halftime advantage.

Bartlett broke the game wide open in the third quarter, with Hare leading the way with a 3-pointer from the right arc with 6:10 left, and then another from the left arc at 3:51 that was the highlight of a 13-2 Hawks run that pushed their lead to 54-36 with 1:45 left.

Hare wasn't done, finishing her night with a turn-and-shoot 3 from the top of the key that capped a 14-4 fourth-quarter run that put the game away and sent the Saints back to St. Charles with an 8-12 record.

"She had a great game, she's a nice shooter," said St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra. "We certainly didn't make it tough for her, I didn't think. I thought she had a lot of good looks, way too open."

Hare's big night overshadowed that of another sophomore, East forward Sara Rosenfeldt, who registered a double-double, with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Bartlett won't be able to rest on its laurels for long, facing Upstate Eight Valley rival South Elgin at home Friday. The Storm have won 8 in a row and lost to Bartlett 63-39 on Dec. 18.

"Momentum-wise, it's great that we found our offense," Mello said.