Saints finally shake Panthers' defense

Glenbard North girls basketball coach John Chamberlain emphasized team defense in the Panthers' nonconference game against St. Charles East on Wednesday night.

For a while the Panthers followed Chamberlain's orders, including holding St. Charles East to just 4 second-quarter points.

Unfortunately for Glenbard North, though, the Panthers could muster just 3 points of their own in the second quarter. The offensively challenged period allowed the Saints to stay close and eventually exit Carol Stream with a 50-41 victory.

St. Charles East (11-6) finally shook off the rust in the third quarter, outscoring the Panthers 18-6. A pair of Jaime Rust 3-pointers in the quarter's last minute stretched the Saints lead to 14 points heading into the fourth.

Saints coach Lori Drumtra was pleased to see the backbreaking 3s go in her team's favor rather than the other way around, as has been the case at times this season.

"That's huge. That's a dagger in the heart for the other team," Drumtra said. "We've been on the other side of that and thought, 'Oh my gosh,' so I was really glad to see her make those."

Rust knew the psychological importance of nearly doubling her team's advantage heading into the final quarter.

"I think it pumped up our team. It pumped me up, I know that," Rust said. "That's happened to me plenty of times, and it's kind of a bummer going into the next quarter.

"It's nice to be on the other side of that."

Sophomore forward Kara Schnier complemented Rust's outside game with an impressive performance in the paint. Schnier and Rust tied for a team high with 16 points each.

"She's been working on her moves, and we got her some really easy baskets," Drumtra said. "A couple of times we came down and just powered it in right away, and we haven't done that in a while."

Glenbard North's (6-11) offensive struggles continued into the final quarter until the Panthers knocked down some late jumpers to make the game closer than it actually felt.

As Chamberlain continued to search for a rotation that clicked, the offense suffered from a lack of time to learn each player's nuances.

"I tried some different lineup combinations, and it probably was a function of the kids not used to playing quite that role," he said.

"I'll take the hit for that one in terms of us not playing in sync."