St. Charles N. hangs on for 43-38 win

Like a bad cold, St. Charles North had problems shaking its opponent Tuesday night.

Overcoming shaky ballhandling, subpar free-throw shooting and a stubborn bunch of York underclassmen, the North Stars (4-2) held on for a 43-38 nonconference girls basketball victory in St. Charles.

Fresh from a 2-2 finish at the prestigious Whitney Young tournament over Thanksgiving break, St. Charles North played inspired basketball at the outset.

Junior center Kelsey Smith, who led all players with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, hit her first three shots and tallied 8 points during the North Stars' 9-0 run in the opening five minutes.

Senior guard Nika Sircher took over in the second quarter, scoring 7 of her 8 points in the period -- including back-to-back steals that resulted in a pair of layups which pushed the North Stars to a 20-11 halftime advantage.

"I thought we came out in the first half and played pretty well, especially with our defensive pressure," said Smith. "In the second half, we didn't execute as well."

After misfiring on 12 of their 13 first-quarter shots and all 7 of their 3-point attempts in the opening half, the Lady Dukes (2-4) suddenly found the range in the third quarter.

Three-pointers by freshman guard Meryl Cripe (7 points) and junior forward Courtney Owens (11 points), and a steal and layup from Stefanie Matsas (6 points) helped the Lady Dukes pull within a point at 22-21 with 2:45 left in the third quarter.

But every time York got close, St. Charles North answered.

Sophomore point guard Kiley Hackbarth converted back-to-back layups to help the North Stars extend their lead to 30-24 after three quarters.

York's Brianne Graunke, who missed her team's first 3 games with an elbow/wrist injury, netted 8 of her team-high 14 points in the final stanza. Her 3-pointer from the far wing closed the gap to 34-31 with 5:33 remaining.

But the North Stars, who committed 8 of their season-high 24 turnovers in the third quarter and made just 6 of 15 free-throw attempts for the contest, countered with 6 unanswered points to finally put the game out of reach.

"We need to work on our consistency," said North Stars coach Katie Sauber. "It's hard for me to understand how we go from one extreme to another.

"We've got to take care of the ball. When we go up against some other teams, every turnover is going to count for two points at the other end."

York coach Ken Dowdy was pleased with his team's perseverance.

"After halftime, I thought the defensive intensity was outstanding," said Dowdy.

However, the cold start proved costly.

"When you go up against a team that's ranked in the top 20 and has a player in the middle like Kelsey (Smith), I think there's an element of intimidation."