North Stars roll on Senior Night

Perhaps no other game is more emotional to a high school athlete than Senior Night.

So it should come as no surprise that there were plenty of cameras flashing and even a tear or two shed at St. Charles North Tuesday night.

However, the smiles definitely overshadowed the tears during the North Stars' 54-37 nonconference girls basketball victory over visiting Downers Grove South (13-13).

"It hit us at the beginning -- we were real sad," said Caitlin Winkelman, who was one of six St. Charles North seniors playing their final home game.

"We kind of tried not to think about it, but I think it hits us more now that (Senior Night) is over."

Winkelman was one of four North Stars (19-5) to finish in double figures with 10 points, joined by fellow senior guard Nika Sircher, who poured in a team-leading 12 points along with 5 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds.

Celebrating the occasion, North Stars coach Katie Sauber sent an all-senior starting lineup to the court with Kara Johnston, Lauren Klopmeyer and Stephanie Horton joining Sircher and Winkelman.

"It was just great to play with all my best friends," said Winkelman. "We've been together since freshman year. We were so pumped to get to play together."

While the Mustangs grabbed a 16-15 first-quarter lead, the North Stars quickly took control during an 18-3 surge that left them with a 33-19 halftime advantage.

Sophomore guard Kiley Hackbarth (11 points) and junior center Kelsey Smith (10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocked shots), normally key cogs in the North Stars' starting lineup, came off the bench to score 6 points each in the second quarter.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lynn Mueller and Gianna Pecora enabled the Mustangs to pull within 8 at 33-25 during the first 2 minutes of the third quarter.

Another 3-pointer -- 1 of 8 made by Downers Grove South -- from Anne Brashaw (17 points) cut the deficit to 37-30 midway through the third period.

"We knew their perimeter game could be tough if we weren't playing tight," said Sauber.

From that point on, however, the Mustangs made just 2 more field goals as the North Stars extended their lead to as much as 54-34 late in the game.

"We do well with that game," Downers South coach Mike McGinnis said of his team's 22 3-point attempts. "Tonight, we didn't do as well with it but we knew we weren't going to get a lot inside."

The North Stars' final highlight of the night came when senior Annie Bialek entered the game for the final minute. Bialek had not played since suffering a shoulder injury at Dundee-Crown in December.

"It was a nice game for them to have on Senior Night," said Sauber. "It's bittersweet because I've had all these girls for three years."