Batavia shuts down Kyles, Larkin

You can count on one hand and probably have a couple fingers left over the number of defenders who have done the job Batavia senior Morgan Erickson did on Larkin senior standout Marlee Kyles this season.

Erickson and her teammates put the defensive clamps on Kyles and the Royals, holding her to 16 points - 13 under her Fox Valley area-leading average - while defeating Larkin 57-40 in an Upstate Eight River girls basketball game in Elgin.

"You have to always know where she is and faceguard her," Erickson said of Kyles. "My team helped me. She's a very strong driver and you just have to stay in front of her."

Kyles came into the game 43 points shy of becoming only the eighth girls basketball player in the Fox Valley area to score 2,000 career points. She'll get a shot at the milestone Monday at 6 p.m. when the Royals host Jacobs in the opening round of the Class 4A Larkin regional.

"It was a team effort," said Batavia coach Kevin Jensen, whose team lost to Larkin 51-48 in early January, a game in which Kyles scored 25 points and became Larkin's all-time leading scorer regardless of gender.

"The girls did a good job. "Our emphasis was to coral (Kyles) and keep her in one spot."

Which Erickson, who also scored a team-high 13 points to go with 8 rebounds and 3 steals, and her teammates sure did, especially in the first 3 quarters. Kyles did not have a field goal until there was 7:45 left in the game, and she had taken only 9 shots to that point. Ten of her points came in the fourth quarter after the Royals (11-16, 4-8) had fallen behind 48-25. The Royals were just 5 of 23 shooting in the first half and finished 12-for-46 (26 percent).

"For her to play the outstanding defense and slow down one of the best players in the state ...," said Jensen of Erickson. "She took care of the ball and scored more than usual. If I had a game ball I'd give it to her."

"Give Batavia credit," said Larkin coach Steve Knapp. "They came out ready to guard Marlee."

As effective as the Bulldogs' defense was, their offense early on was efficient in building a 29-18 halftime lead.

Sophomore Hailey Orman hit three 3-pointers in the first half while senior Mackenzie Foster scored 6 points and senior Elena Cabrera had 5 points including a 3-pointer as Batavia, which committed only 10 turnovers in the game, balanced its offense against Larkin's 2-3 zone.

The Bulldogs put the game away in the third quarter, going on a 17-5 run to open the period. With 1:33 left in the third Batavia (8-21, 4-8) took its biggest lead of the night, 48-23, on a basket from Ava Sergio (8 points). Sophomore Geddy Rerko scored 8 of her 9 points in the quarter and Erickson added 6.

Larkin employed a new press in the fourth quarter and it sparked the Royals to get within 15 after a Kyles free throw with 4:27 to play and that much encouraged Knapp.

"We haven't run it all year and we did really well with it," Knapp said of the press. "The fourth quarter was a positive we hope we can carry into Monday night."

Freshman Brianna Young added 8 points and 5 rebounds for Larkin.