Kyles sets Larkin's scoring record
Marlee Kyles is the new Larkin all-time leading scorer, a feat that would have come even quicker Tuesday night if she also wasn't so unselfish.
The Arizona-bound point guard scored the first six points against Belvidere North in a little over a minute, and by the end of the first quarter she had 11.
Kyles needed 17 points to pass Kiley Holtz's total of 1,406. That would have to wait awhile.
Kyles is much more than a scorer, and for the next two quarters she set up her teammates, helping Larkin build a double-digit lead in the third-place game of the Burlington Central Thanksgiving tournament.
The record-setting basket finally came with 7:25 left in the fourth quarter when she took an out of bounds pass from Haley Bohne and flipped in a short jumper.
"I was hoping she would get it in the first half," Larkin coach Steve Knapp said. "But she dished the ball really well. Team player. She wasn't worried about the record. If it happens it happens. Our goal tonight, and Marlee said it, was to win."
Kyles finished with 22 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, and the Royals held on for a 60-57 win when the Blue Thunder missed three potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 22 seconds.
Burlington Central athletic director Steve Diversey presented Kyles with the game ball.
"It means so much," Kyles said. "I am so happy to be a Royal. It's truly a blessing. I'm out of words.
"I was trying to not let it consume me. It was really fun. It was the hardest four points of my life (she had 13 points at halftime), but it was awesome."
It didn't look early like it would take that long for the record to fall - or for the game to be so close. Larkin (3-1) opened the game on a 12-0 run, capping it when Kyles found Brianna Young for a 3.
Larkin built its biggest lead at 27-10 when Kyles assisted Haley Casebeer inside. The Royals led 37-23 at halftime and 45-34 after three quarters.
"I feel like we are playing really well in the first half and the second half we just can't find a way to score," Knapp said. "They did a great job on Marlee. It was hard for her to score."
But after taking almost six minutes to make its first basket, Belvidere North (2-2) made up for it with a 23-point fourth quarter. The Blue Thunder drilled four 3-pointers in the quarter and twice cut Larkin's lead to 1.
Leading 51-50, Kyles made a step-back 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining. The Blue Thunder pulled within 58-57 with 1:16 left before Bohne sank 2 free throws.
Neither team scored in the final minute. A pair of missed free throws and a turnover didn't end up costing Larkin as the Blue Thunder's final 3s clanged off the rim.
"Our goal was to go 4-0 in this tournament," Bohne said. "We're sad we lost to Harlem but definitely going 3-1 in this tournament helps a lot going into conference and everything."
Bohne added 13 points, Young scored 8 and Casebeer 7 while Brianna Lake led the Blue Thunder with 19.
But the night - and much of the last four years - belonged to Kyles.
"She shreds defenses," Knapp said. "If people don't double team her, they are going to run into problems. She's so shifty. Her ball-handling skills are some of the best I've seen."