Wrap: Defense leads St. Charles North to a win

If defense wins championships, perhaps St. Charles North's girls basketball team has some big things in store for its future.

The North Stars threw a proverbial blanket over Glenbard West's offense during the first half of Tuesday night's nonconference game while building a commanding 30-8 lead.

That comfortable double-digit halftime cushion was more than enough for the North Stars (12-4), who went on to defeat the Hilltoppers 49-32 in St. Charles.

How suffocating was the North Stars' defense?

Glenbard West (9-11) was held without a point for the last 11 minutes, 24 seconds of the first half -- and misfired on all 9 of its field-goal attempts while failing to score in the second quarter.

"That feels good definitely - defensively," said North Stars junior center Kelsey Smith, who recorded game highs of 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. "It's something that coach (Katie Sauber) kind of talked about after our last game and the last few games."

The North Stars, who trailed briefly at 4-2 and 6-4, finished the first quarter on a 9-0 tear while taking a 19-8 advantage.

While Glenbard West focused its attention on the 6-foot-4 Smith, St. Charles North guards Anna Conrad and Kiley Hackbarth made the Hilltoppers pay from the outside.

Conrad scored 8 of her 14 points in the first quarter, while Hackbarth added 7 of her 9 points during the opening period. The tandem also was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.

"We were focused on Smith in the first half and Conrad hurt us," said Hilltoppers coach Mike Hofland. "We knew she could shoot but she was hot. She did a real nice job of hitting the open jumper.

"We tried to take one thing away (inside game) and they hurt us. They did a nice job once we doubled down. And I thought they did the best job we've seen of kicking the ball out and getting the open shot."

St. Charles North eventually scored 22 unanswered points, taking its biggest lead of the night at 32-8 on Smith's putback in the opening minute of the third quarter.

"Our goal is to set the pace, set the tone right away," said North Stars coach Katie Sauber, "and the girls did it well. Our transition game was great. We looked relaxed and we moved the ball well up the court."

While the Hilltoppers outscored the North Stars 24-17 over the final 14 minutes, the damage was already done.

"We've got three sophomores who are still learning," said Hofland. "We're just trying to develop our court presence. The more minutes, the better, and they finished strong - that's what I'm happy about."

Abigail Hastings led the Hilltoppers with 10 points.

Girls basketball

Latin 46, Elgin Academy 33: The Hilltoppers (6-12, 3-3) fell to the Latin School of Chicago in Independent School League play. Alyssa Pena had a team-high 12 points for Elgin Academy. Lauren Steimle added 9 points while teammate Bianca Swegler recorded 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Hampshire 48, North Boone 25: The Whip-Purs (10-6, 3-1) emerged victorious in this Big Northern East contest at Hampshire. Leading the Hampshire were Chrissy Heine (15 points) and Mallory Koster (8 points). Gianina Estocado added 7 points for the Whips.

Dundee-Crown 44, McHenry 21: Dundee-Crown (8-9, 1-0) opened the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division season with a win, snapping a six-game losing streak. Robyn Staudenmaier led the Chargers with 10 points. Teammates Rachel Wilhelmi and Kate Pilson each added 6 points.

Burlington Central 64, Harvard 35: Harvard wasn't able to stop the Rockets (12-5, 3-0) or at least not Jordan Maisto, who snagged 7 steals, 4 rebounds and posted 20 points. Cory Bazany (10 rebounds, 14 points) and Melanie Laird (4 steals, 7 rebounds, 13 points) each posted outstanding numbers as the Rockets prevailed in a Big Northern East road game.

Prairie Ridge 49, Crystal Lake Central 33: In the Fox Valley (Fox) the Wolves (7-11, 1-0) defeated the Tigers behind Shannon Hennelly's team-high 14 points. Julie Schwartz added 9 points for Prairie Ridge.

Grayslake North 43, Huntley 39:ŒThe Red Raiders fell short in this Fox Division game played in Grayslake Tuesday night. Senior Daisy Jara netted 12 points and senior Katie Bergquist 10 in a losing cause for Huntley (9-7). Senior Hilary Kuhl scored 12 points to lead the Knights (8-7).

South Elgin 49, Lakes 27:ŒThe Storm (8-10) earned a nonconference victory behind 10 points from sophomore forward Alyssa Krause and 10 points from junior center Courney Kumerow.

Boys basketball

Latin 68, Elgin Academy 28: In the Independent School League, the Hilltoppers (2-13, 0-6) fell to Latin School of Chicago. Cory Ebert led Elgin Academy with 6 points.

Crystal Lake South 55, Oswego East 54: With a last-second shot by Wesley Evans (17 points) the Gators (9-5) knocked off Oswego East in nonconference play. Eric Wilde contributed with 12 points while Mike Brockway added 11 points to the Gators' victory.

Hampshire 53, Hinckley-Big Rock 36: Hampshire (12-1, 7-8) defeated Hinckley-Big Rock for a nonconference victory. Justin Bieber led the Whip Purs to victory with 23 points, including seven 3-pointers. T.J. Burzak and Evan Brenner each added 8 points.

Girls gymnastics

Elgin/Larkin 112.15, Wheeling 108: The Elgin/Larkiin co-op team defeated Wheeling with some tough judging scores. Andrea Vercelli took first place in three events. Vercelli scored a 7.7 on the uneven bars while teammate Lizzy Niles scored a 7.0 for second place. On beam Vercelli scored a high of 8.7 as well as a 8.1 in the all-around for the first place spot. Brady Kirkland took first place on the floor exercise with a score of 8.1 as well as third in the all-around with a score of 6.875.

Men's basketball

Waubonsee C.C. 91, Elgin C.C. 67:ŒA 20-point effort from Corey Rau and 13 points from Ryan Harris weren't enough to help the Spartans (5-8) overcome a Waubonsee attack that saw 6 players finish with double-digit point totals.

Women's basketball

Elgin C.C. 47, Waubonsee C.C. 40:ŒThe Spartans went into Erickson Hall in Sugar Grove and left with a victory, thanks to a 14-point, 12-rebound effort from freshman Meaghan Staley-Gamble. Sophomore Ariana Topps added 9 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Jessica Turnage contributed 6 points and 9 rebounds for E.C.C.

Oakton C.C. 66, McHenry C.C. 53:ŒThe Lady Scots fell short despite a 21-point outing for freshman Lisa Beyer, 12 points from freshman center Lyndsey Thompson and 9 points from freshman Patrice Dacosta.