Fenwick snaps Stars' streak beating St. Charles North 57-45
Katlyn Payne enjoyed a happy homecoming Tuesday in St. Charles, which made it a not-so-happy night for the North Stars girls basketball team.
Payne scored Fenwick's first nine points, helping the Friars overcome an early 8-point deficit and beat St. Charles North 57-45.
Payne, a junior at Fenwick, went to middle school in St. Charles and had many friends and family in the stands.
"A lot of my best friends came," Payne said. "It was good to play in front of them because they don't get to see me much in Chicago."
Payne, who started her high school career at St. Edward, tied teammate Tricia Liston and the North Stars' Kelsey Smith, all with 19 points. While Liston shot 8-of-25 from the field, Payne hit 6 of 10 and all 6 of her free throws, while finishing with 8 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 2 steals against some former friends.
"I remember playing all them (St. Charles North) in middle school," Payne said. "Me and (SCN point guard) Kiley (Hackbarth) have been friends for a long time. They are all really nice girls."
St. Charles North (16-6) took it to the state's 10th-ranked Class 4A team early. Smith scored 9 points and grabbed 6 boards in the first quarter, which ended with the North Stars leading 17-12 after Fenwick's Serafina Nuzzo swished a 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Fenwick (18-4) switched to a 1-2-2 trap to start the second quarter, and it created all kinds of problems for the North Stars. St. Charles North made just 1 of 11 shots in the quarter and turned the ball over 6 times, as Fenwick outscored the North Stars 15-2 to take a 27-19 halftime lead.
"It was the second quarter," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber said. "We had a hard time with that half-court pressure, the traps. The girls did a good job, unfortunately it was that second quarter."
The North Stars responded with an 8-0 run early in the third quarter, cutting Fenwick's lead to 29-27, only to watch the Friars just as quick post an 8-0 burst to go back up 37-27.
Anna Conrad's 3-pointer to end the third quarter brought the North Stars within 39-34, but Fenwick delivered one last knockout punch - a 10-0 spurt midway through the fourth quarter - to push its lead to 15 points.
"Obviously that is a really good team," Smith said. "We came out like we wanted to. It's going to be hard to contain a team like that. They picked up their intensity a little and we had trouble adjusting."
After hitting 6 of 9 three-pointers Saturday against St. Charles East, the North Stars missed their first eight against Fenwick and finished 2 of 12.
Sauber said she was happy with their defense on Liston, who had been averaging 27 points in her last 8 games. But the North Stars' 21 turnovers and cold outside shooting proved too much to overcome.
"I thought the defensive pressure was a key," Fenwick coach Dave Power said. "I thought Katlyn got some of the hard baskets. We don't face teams with a tall girl like Kelsey every day. Coming in here is not an easy thing."
Smith added 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, and Jenna Bell earned praise from Power with her 12 points and 5 rebounds.
The North Stars only shot 1 free throw while Fenwick hit 13 of 17.
"I don't think the lack of those calls won or lost us any games," Sauber said. "We've got to be tough and we're not going to complain. We needed to take it to the hoop stronger. It didn't happen for us tonight."
The loss ended the North Stars' 6-game winning streak. They'll try to bounce back tonight at Sandburg before Thursday's Upstate Eight clash at Lake Park.
"Thursday we are really looking to, that's going to be conference championship," Smith said.