St. Charles North cruises

St. Charles North girls basketball coach Katie Sauber couldn't have been happier after the North Stars' game at rival St. Charles East Saturday.

Not only was Sauber holding her 5-month-old son, Jack, after the game, but her North Stars just beat the Saints, 50-27, in the cross-town classic, which allowed them to remain undefeated in the Upstate Eight Conference.

"I have nothing to complain about right now," Sauber said. "It was a nice win. (St. Charles East coach) Lori (Drumtra) does a nice job with those girls, but it was time for my girls. It was nice. All three levels in our program won tonight, so it's rewarding for everyone."

The North Stars (16-4, 8-0) broke an early 4-4 tie by going on a 10-0 run, led by Kelsey Smith's 6 points.

By the end of the run, the North Stars led 14-4 with 7:09 left in the first half.

"We wanted to bury them as soon as we could," Smith said. "We really wanted this win, and I think that showed."

St. Charles East (13-7, 6-1) trailed anywhere between 7 and 11 points for the rest of the first half, as the North Stars led 25-14 at the break.

In the third quarter, the North Stars really opened the game up after going on a 13-0 run, led by 4 different players. By the start of the fourth, St. Charles North led by 20 points and had its second string of players in the game.

Thirteen North Stars clocked in with 11 scoring. Smith led the way with 17 points as the only player on either side to reach double-digits.

"Our entire team contributed to this win," Sauber said.

"It was nice, especially in a big game like this," Smith added on seeing the bench getting playing time. "Everyone wants to get in, so it was nice."

The Saints were held to a season-low of 27 points.

"I think they played good defense against us," St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra said. "I'm not going to make any excuses. We were having a very hard time getting good looks at the basket."

Stephanie Roan led the way for the Saints with 9 points.

"I think we have to give credit where credit is due," Drumtra said. "I think they put a lot of pressure on our perimeter players…we had a really hard time getting good looks. That's a big credit to (St. Charles North). They were playing tight defense."