Batavia opens with easy win

Perhaps a bit nervous at first because it was the first game of the season, Batavia's Kara Lydon missed the first few shots she took against Rockford-Jefferson.

By the end of the quarter, she had two points. By halftime, the senior guard/forward erupted for 10 more and finished with a game-high 15 in the Bulldogs' 60-30 win against the J-Hawks at Aurora Christian in the IMSA/AC Hoop Happenings Thanksgiving Tournament in girls basketball action Tuesday.

"We struggled in the beginning," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. "I looked at Kara and said, 'Don't you dare quit shooting,' and she said, 'I won't,' and she didn't. She got hot there in the second quarter... we then relaxed and executed."

"Gotta keep shooting," added Lydon, who finished with three 3-pointers. "I knew they would go in eventually."

Melissa Norville got things started for the Bulldogs (1-0), as she scored the first 6 points of the game. The J-Hawks hung with them until halfway through the second quarter. They got as close as 13-12 after a banked-in 3-pointer from Alexandria Curry, but following that, Batavia went on a 16-2 run and ended up leading 30-14 at the break, thanks to Lydon's efforts.

"Probably the last four minutes of the second quarter, we executed beautifully," DeBruycker said. "We were getting layups, getting to the basket, getting free throws, doing everything we could do."

"We wanted to come out hard, but since it was the first game, everyone was nervous and jittery," Lydon added. "So we had to slow it down and run the plays. Once we did that, we got the hang of it. It was good."

Batavia's run continued in the third quarter, as it outscored R-J 18-0 in the third, led by Natalie Tarter's 8 points. Tarter finished with 14 points (and a game-high 8 rebounds) as the only other Bulldog to reach double-digits in scoring. Norville finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds.

By the end of the third, Batavia had their biggest lead of the game, 48-14. The fourth quarter was a great opportunity to get everyone on the Bulldogs' bench a lot of playing time. Ten of 15 players scored at least one point with junior Katie Luetkins leading all reserves with 8 points.