Schmidt, Burlington Central bounce back with big win
The Burlington Central girls basketball team was determined Thursday night to not have a repeat of what happened to the squad in the opening game of the season Tuesday - allowing its opponent to build an insurmountable first quarter lead.
The Rockets turned the tables on Marengo, scoring the first 16 points of the game in route to a 49-12 win at Central's Thanksgiving Classic Tournament.
"That was a complete turnaround from other night," said Central coach Mark Smith. "We told the girls from game one to game two there should be a huge improvement and we showed that tonight."
Freshman forward Kathryn Schmidt provided most of the offensive firepower, scorching the nets for a game-high 23 points, including four 3-pointers.
"I was really happy with how we ran the plays. They really worked today. Also my teammates were making really good passes to me so I owe it to them," Schmidt said. "I think we worked together as a team tonight."
"Schmidt is quite a talent. She can play inside or out and it's going to be hard to guard her throughout the year," said Smith. "And she's just going to keep getting better. She had a real nice game tonight."
Schmidt's first trey from the left corner started Central's scoring 32 seconds into the contest.
The Rockets held Marengo scoreless in the first quarter, leading 14-0 after the first 8 minutes.
"They got on a run early. We had a hard time stepping off the back screen at the high post. They got some backdoor looks and got some layups," said Marengo coach Nick Rode. "Their big kid (Schmidt) stepped out and was hitting from the outside which made it a tough cover. I just think getting off to a slow start didn't help us."
The Indians finally got on the scoreboard at the 6:50 mark of the second quarter on a short jumper by Hannah Ritter.
Central led 29-7 at the half.
"We definitely wanted to see a really big improvement from our first game. In practice we focused a lot on breaking the press and recovering on defense," said Central guard Hannah Overmyer, who had 6 points. "It's incredible to see how big of a difference it was after one day. The offense was definitely more patient and calm - we were wiser with how we passed the ball not forcing anything."
The Rockets (1-1) let up on the gas in the third quarter, scoring only 7 points but their man-to-man defense still stymied Marengo (0-2), which was again scoreless in the quarter. Central had a 36-7 advantage starting the last period.
"Defensively, it was outstanding. We knew we had to stop 25 (Marissa Knobloch). She's a great player," said Smith. "Hannah Overmyer just did an outstanding job on her and obviously we shut her down."
Central controlled the glass, outrebounding Marengo 37-15. Schmidt pulled down 7 and teammate Mackenzie West grabbed 5.
West also scored 8 points, going 6 for 7 from the free throw line.
Zoey Kollhoff tallied 6 points for the Rockets.