Maiso's clutch free throws lift BC over Elgin
Burlington Central girls basketball coach Darlene Guyett does not believe Jordan Maisto is a sophomore.
At least not the way Maisto plays on the basketball floor. She plays beyond her years and is poised in almost any situation.
So when Maisto was fouled with 17.2 seconds remaining Tuesday in a tie game against Elgin, Guyett was fine with it.
"I think she plays as a mature player," Guyett said. "When they fouled her I was actually like, 'Great.' I was confident in Jordan knocking those down."
Maisto hit both free throws and Central made one last defensive stand to earn a season-opening 46-44 nonconference victory over Elgin in Burlington.
"It was nerve-racking," said Maisto, who finished with 9 points. "I was trying not to listen to the crowd because I didn't feel too much pressure."
After Maisto's free throws, the Maroons had difficulty bringing the ball up court and the play drawn up during a timeout broke down. Elgin junior Ellen Holton, who scored a game-high 21 points, thought she got free for an open look, but Central's Brianna Conran blocked her fourth shot of the game. The Rockets controlled the loose ball and ran out the final seconds.
Elgin had to rally from two big second-half deficits to have a chance to pull out the victory.
The Maroons trailed by 10 midway through the third quarter and eventually tied the game at 34-34 with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter thanks to a 9-0 run. Central scored 9 of the next 10 points to take a 44-36 lead. Elgin went on an 8-0 run capped by a Caris Alan 3-pointer to again tie the game at 44-44 with 1:48 left.
"The kids didn't give up. That's for sure," Elgin coach Angie Hudson said. "We started getting the ball to the people we needed to during (those runs)."
The Maroons had several chances thanks to three offensive rebounds with less than a minute remaining, but failed to score. Central senior Cory Bazany, the lone returning starter for last season's conference champions, missed the front end of a one-and-one, but grabbed the offensive rebound. Then Maisto missed a 3-pointer and the rebound resulted in a jump ball with the Rockets getting possession with 24.4 seconds left. After a few passes, Maisto made a back-door cut and was fouled as she went up for a layup.
The finish was as thrilling as the rest of the game was lackluster as the teams combined for 60 turnovers and went 12-for-34 from the free-throw line.
"A very typical first game of the season," Guyett said.
Melanie Laird, coming off a serious knee injury, led Central with 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Bazany added 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Holton added 7 rebounds to go with her 21 points. Alan finished with 12 points.