Stars fade against NT

The St. Charles North girls basketball team was obviously disappointed with the way they played in the fourth quarter of their game against New Trier on Monday.

The North Stars made consecutive turnovers and were outscored by 17 points in the final frame of their 50-42 loss against the Trevians in a semifinal of Dundee-Crown's Charger Classic in Carpentersville.

"That was not supposed to happen," St. Charles North junior Kiley Hackbarth said. "We buckled. We had it in the bag and we lost it ... we just couldn't catch a break. I don't know what happened."

The North Stars had a 34-26 advantage with 7:37 left to play after a Hackbarth free throw. From there, the Trevians (15-1) went on a 8-0 run and tied the game at 34 after a free throw from Abbey Schmitt with 6:20 left to play. Included in that run were back-to-back steals and layups from Maggie Lyon and Molly Quirke, along with another key turnover.

"We did not handle the ball," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber-Duraski said. "We didn't pass the ball well, and they know if they don't pass the ball well we are done."

"They pressed very well and we couldn't break it," St. Charles North senior Kelsey Smith added. "We were right there ... we went from being confident to frantic. We were rushing things and we weren't running our stuff."

St. Charles North made three free throws to push its lead up 37-34, but after free throws from Schmitt and a putback from Lyon, New Trier recaptured the lead. The North Stars' final lead was 39-38 after a basket from Smith with 3:10 remaining.

New Trier scored the next 8 points and capped the game on a 12-3 run. It finished outscoring the North Stars 26-9 in the final quarter. Despite battling the flu, Smith led the way for St. Charles North with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Hackbarth finished with 13 points.

The North Stars (11-3) won the first two tournament games against Regina and Johnsburg. If they defeated New Trier, they would have set themselves up for a date with Fenwick in the title game, but instead will play for third place tonight against Mother McAuley at 6:30 p.m.

"We are hoping for that," Hackbarth said. "We just have to come out strong and learn from our mistakes."