Foul trouble does in Kaneland in loss to Sycamore

As the Kaneland fouls piled up in the second half, Sycamore took full advantage.

The host Spartans found themselves in the double bonus midway through the third quarter and connected on 15-of-16 second half free throw attempts to secure a 47-41 victory in Tuesday night's crucial Northern Illinois Big 12 East girls basketball contest.

Kaneland (16-3, 5-3) jumped out to a 14-6 lead after one quarter, but Sycamore rallied to even the score at 27-27 heading into the fourth. The Spartans (16-4, 8-1) outscored Kaneland 11-4 over the final four minutes to complete the season sweep.

Kylie Modaff tallied a game-high 15 points for the Knights, connecting on four 3-pointers. Bailey Crimmins added 10 points for Kaneland while Meg Cohrs provided a spark off the bench with 7 points.

"We got into some foul trouble and that really hurt us, not just with them hitting free throws, but our rotation kind of got helter skelter of where we wanted to be in terms of matchups," said Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe.

The back-and-forth fourth quarter featured six lead changes. Modaff's trifecta put Kaneland in front 35-34, but Madison McGhee answered with a jumper for Sycamore.

Crimmins hit a pair of free throws to give the Knights their final lead at 37-36. The Spartans scored 6 of the next 7 points before another Modaff 3-pointer brought Kaneland within 42-41 with 1:45 left.

Camri Conley's potential game-tying layup rimmed out with 20 seconds left and Sycamore sealed the win with 4 free throws.

"We had opportunities at the end. We had a nice drive to the rim and the ball went in and out," Colombe said. "Credit to them for making their free throws. I think they were 11 for 12 in the first game, so they don't make many mistakes," Colombe said.

Kaneland got off to an excellent start as Vanessa Gould made a pair of driving layups and Crimmins scored 6 first-quarter points.

However, the Knights' offense went stagnant in the second quarter. Modaff scored all 5 of the team's points as Sycamore trimmed the lead to 19-15.

"When we had different personnel in we started standing a little bit and they were able to help. We needed to move the ball a little more and have people cutting," Colombe said.

Lauren Goff led a balanced Sycamore attack with 9 points while Taiya Hopkins finished with 8. Chloe Goff also contributed 6 key fourth quarter points.