Saints hoping to upset North Stars
Watching Natasha Lalos walk off the court after her red-hot shooting helped St. Charles East advance to the Class 4A South Elgin regional championship game Tuesday night, it wasn't just fellow Saints congratulating her.
Lalos' teammates gave her plenty of high-fives, but it was St. Charles North senior guard Anna Conrad who had a hug.
That's the same Conrad who will be doing everything in her power to make sure Lalos and her Saints teammates aren't smiling after the game tonight.
Top-seed St. Charles North and No. 2 St. Charles East will play at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the latest chapter of a rivalry the North Stars have enjoyed the best of lately.
It's going to take shooting like Lalos' five 3-pointers and 19 points against South Elgin, or Lexi Baltes' 22 points and 9-of-9 tough at the free-throw line, for the Saints to pull the surprise.
"We had it close at halftime against them," Baltes said of their 50-33 loss to the North Stars on Jan. 24. "We are looking to put two good halves together and play a good game Thursday."
The Saints got the North Stars' 6-foot-4 center Kelsey Smith in foul trouble in the first meeting. Smith never got in the flow and finished with 6 points. But the senior - who could leave the North Stars with 1,500 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks - got plenty of help from her teammates.
"They hit some big 3s, Anna Conrad and Jenna Bell had really nice games," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said of the North Stars' 14-point advantage in the second half.
"They have a lot of weapons. Kelsey gets so much of the attention but the other four people on the court can score. They are a challenge."
The winner advances to Monday's Jacobs sectional. The Saints won regional titles in 2005 and 2006; the North Stars claimed their first regional and sectional championships last season.
"We're ready," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber said. "I'm confident if we put in the work (at practice) and capitalize on what we do well and what they don't do well, we can take the game. But it's not going to be easy."
The Saints-North Stars battle is far from the only game in town tonight.
Batavia is out for its first regional championship since 1990 and only second in school history. To get it, the 22-4 Bulldogs will have to beat 18-11 Benet at Hinsdale South. The Redwings own 14 regional titles, including a streak of 10 straight that was snapped last year.
If the seeds are any indication, it should be a tight one, Batavia is No. 4 and Benet No. 5. Geneva is one common opponent, with the Bulldogs losing twice by 19 points each time, and Benet losing by a similar 62-48 score.
"They play a tough schedule," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said Tuesday. "We'll come ready to play."
Batavia is trying to advance to the Waubonsie Valley sectional, where they would get either top seed Bolingbrook or DuPage Valley Conference co-champion Naperville Central.
Rosary has had some impressive wins in recent postseasons, including an upset of No. 1 seed Geneva two years ago for the first regional title in school history. The Royals followed by winning a 3A title last year.
Of Rosary's 6 losses this year, five are to state-ranked teams (Montini, Driscoll and Geneva). A win will put them in Monday's Marengo sectional against the Belvidere regional winner.