Saints shoot past South Elgin
After a nearly perfect first half offensively, St. Charles East couldn't keep that same breakneck pace in the second half Tuesday night against host South Elgin in the Class 4A regional semifinals.
Luckily for the Saints, they were so perfect in first 16 minutes, they didn't have to be in the second 16.
St. Charles East blistered the nets for 63 percent shooting and 41 first-half points to take a 13-point halftime lead. South Elgin held the Saints to 24 points in the second half and closed within 4, but St. Charles East had enough of a cushion to hold on, 65-54.
The No. 2 seeded Saints (15-13) will try to reverse a regular season loss to No. 1 St. Charles North (20-8) in the regional championship game Thursday night.
The Saints will need another shooting effort like their first half Tuesday, when they hit 11 of 16 shots in the second quarter and 6 of 9 3-pointers in the first half.
"We had a ridiculous second quarter," said Lexi Baltes, who led all scorers with 22 points. "That is the team we want to be all the time, hitting every shot, playing good defense. We were patient and we waited for the smart shots rather than just chucking up stuff."
Every Saint shot well in that stretch, none better than senior Natasha Lalos who hit 4 of 5 3s, including one just before halftime that drew the ire of South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast.
"I've been struggling for the greater part of the season so it felt really good to be able to hit them," Lalos said. "My coach has been working with me to shoot it faster and shoot it with someone in my face. It's helped."
Led by freshman Becca Smith, the Storm (17-10) rallied in the fourth quarter. She scored their first six points of the fourth, then Alyssa Krause's basket brought them within 50-46 with five minutes to play.
Lalos again had the answer, her only 3-pointer of the second half.
"We've played them four times in the last two years and she puts up 3s in her sleep against us," Prendergast said. "We dug ourselves a hole, we were able to fight back. We just didn't get it done. You've got to give them credit, they made their free throws, they deserved to win the game. For whatever reason we struggle against St. Charles East. Everybody in the world beats St. Charles East except for us."
Baltes led the Saints' 12 of 15 effort at the line, making all 9. South Elgin didn't make a free throw or 3-pointer in the game, going 0 of 5 on its free throws.
The lead changed hands 9 times in an up-tempo first half. St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra credited Jaime Rust with a "huge" basket just before the first quarter buzzer that cut South Elgin's lead to 18-15, setting the stage for the Saints' second-quarter explosion.
"Usually we get off to a quick start and we slow down in the second quarter, it was the exact opposite," St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra said. "Natasha came up big. That was nice to see. She did that last year, her 3s are just daggers. That just kills you fought so hard to get back in. Really big baskets."
Smith and Cortney Kumerow led South Elgin with 16 points. Rust added 12 points and 5 rebounds for the Saints, while Shannon Kennedy came off the bench with Kara Schnier in foul trouble and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Now the Saints will try to reverse their 50-33 loss to the North Stars Jan. 24, a game they trailed by 3 at halftime.
"We were right with them," Lalos said. "If we can pull out a full game we can stay with them and do well."