Burns shines but Royals fall to Neuqua

The girls on Neuqua Valley's bench know they'd better not get too comfortable.

Wildcats basketball coach Mike Williams liberally substituted all 11 of his players throughout his squad's 51-35 win over Larkin in opening-round action of the Hinsdale South Thanksgiving Tournament.

"We typically use everyone," Williams said. "I thought Courtney Palicka and Colleen Hohman both came in and did a nice job. We've got a lot of players that can contribute."

Through two quarters, Larkin (0-1) kept things close and only trailed 21-17 at halftime. Neuqua Valley (2-0) led 16-9 in the second quarter after a Danielle Davis 3-pointer and a Beth Goldberg free throw, but Larkin fought back on a pair of Alyssa Burns baskets.

A free throw by Larkin's Jennifer Koch tied the game at 17-17 before the Wildcats got a baseline jumper from Danielle Carroll and a Palicka basket before halftime.

As so often happens in basketball, Friday's game was largely decided in the third quarter. Neuqua Valley (2-0) earned a 14-2 scoring edge in the third and picked up its defense in helping to force 12 Larkin turnovers in eight minutes.

If Larkin coach Amy Silverman had to pick a player to lose to illness prior to her squad's game against the Wildcats, it wouldn't have been 5-foot-10-inch senior Laura Kay.

Kay had to sit out a game in which the Neuqua Valley earned a 37-21 edge in rebounds for the game and hammered the offensive glass throughout the second half.

"We needed one more post player tonight," Silverman said. "But this was not a bad first game for us. We stayed with them for almost 2½ quarters."

"They were just a little bigger and stronger than us, especially in rebounding. That's where they really got us."

The Wildcats had five players with 5 rebounds or more each. Viv Kindt led her squad with 11 points on a night of balanced scoring, but it was the Wildcats' defensive stand in the third quarter that spelled doom for Larkin.

Senior guard Burns shined for Larkin, leading all players with 16 points to go with 6 rebounds and a handful of steals on the night. Lindsey Casebeer and Jessica Harris also put in quality minutes for Larkin.

"Burns did an excellent job," Silverman said. "She picked up from where she left off last year, and she's just going to build on that. She's a very skilled, strong, smart player."