Elgin avenges earlier loss to Streamwood

Looking to avenge a January 20 home loss to Streamwood, the Elgin girls basketball team stormed into the Sabres' Senior Night with payback on the brain.

While the start to both games was nearly indentical, the outcome was quite the opposite. After jumping out to a 10-0 start, Elgin transformed last month's 59-56 loss into a 52-42 Upstate Eight Conference win.

Kayla Jackson (8 points, 4 steals) got the Maroon offense going connecting three times in the first 4 minutes of the game.

Down 14-2 in the final seconds of the first quarter, Alex Kowalewski came off the bench to sink a 3-pointer for Streamwood at the buzzer. The Sabres opened the second quarter with two quick buckets to make it 14-9, but that was as close as they would get.

Defensively, Elgin (6-17, 3-6) held Streamwood to single-digit scoring in each of the first three quarters. At the half, the Maroons led 38-12 allowing the Sabres just 3 field goals.

"We played really well defensively," said Elgin coach Angie Hudson. "Our defense created our offense."

In the second quarter, Elgin converted 12-of-16 attempts from the foul line. From the field, Caris Alan (6 steals, 5 assists) was virtually unstoppable collecting 12 of her game-high 15 points before the break.

"We came out strong and played as a team," said Alan. "We used that first loss to them to pump us up early, and everybody worked together for this win."

Ellen Holton was a force inside for the Maroons racking up 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 swipes. Brandi Hernandez added 7 points, while Evelyn Boje snagged 10 boards.

Despite trailing by as many as 26 points, Streamwood (6-19, 1-7) never quit. Caitlin Marchant (8 points), Amanda Patterson (7 points, 3 steals) and Kim Hotovy (7 points, 3 steals) combined to lead offensive efforts. Emma Schmidt had 10 rebounds.

"We had a really bad start," said Streamwood coach George Rosner. "We struggled to hit shots and weren't very focused. Defensively, we did a nice job the entire second half."