St. Charles North turns Brennan's debut into a winnner
Colleen Brennan has emphasized that above all she wants her St. Charles North girls to be a smart - a savvy - basketball team.
Looks like the first-year coach has got her wish. And she's also got a team that can push the tempo, force turnovers, score inside or outside just as easily, and also has its share of mettle when the situation gets tight.
St. Charles North flashed all of the above in a season-opening 64-51 win over Providence Catholic Saturday at the 22nd annual Geneva Thanksgiving tournament.
"I couldn't be more pleased across the board, especially their mental toughness," Brennan said. "That game could have swung a completely different direction had we not kept with it and really been focused."
The Celtics chopped the North Stars' 15-point third-quarter lead to 50-45 with five minutes left in the game. Sydney Russell drained a clutch 3-pointer to help swing the momentum and start the North Stars on a 14-6 game-closing run.
Russell finished with 14 points to join backcourt mate Kiley Hackbarth (10) in double figures.
"She's (Russell) going to be a key player for us," Brennan said. "We're going to have a lot of people sitting on Kiley so it is nice to have that balance between those two. Having those two reading the defense, savvy, picking up on what is going on. They really used each other's strengths."
The North Stars showed their inside-outside balance by getting equally impressive games from post players Jenna Bell (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Dana Sibley (12 points, 6 boards).
Tess Fischer and Taylor Russell both scored 6 points for the North Stars, who only used seven players. Sydney Russell's 5 first-half steals led an aggressive full-court defensive effort that created several easy baskets and helped the North Stars shoot nearly 50 percent (24 of 49) from the floor.
The North Stars couldn't have started the game any better, racing to an 8-0 minute in the first minute. Hackbarth, a recent Rhode Island signee, hit a 3-pointer 14 seconds into the game, assisted Russell on a layup and then assisted Russell on a 3 just a minute into the game.
"That as awesome," Hackbarth said. "We set the pace and the tone of the game right from the get-go. That was something we talked about before the game, we wanted to get the momentum going. We really did that."
Providence Catholic (1-2) regrouped to score the final 11 points of the first quarter and lead 15-12.
The North Stars (1-0) turned to their inside game to regain the lead for good in the second quarter, with Sibley and Bell combining for 15 of the team's final 21 points of the first half. Hackbarth's baseline runner with 1 second left put St. Charles North ahead 31-22 at halftime.
St. Charles North led 50-38 after three quarters, with the red-hot shooting by the Celtics' Emily Persak keeping Providence in the game. Persak tied a tournament record with six 3-pointers, missing only once.
"She's a great shooter and it was rolling," Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver said. "She has the green light. We came back a couple times and we just couldn't get over the hump. St. Charles was very disciplined, they ran some nice stuff."
St. Charles North 64, Providence 51
St. Charles North - Hackbarth 3 3-4 10, Russell 5 0-1 14, Bell 7 2-6 16, Russell 2 2-2 6, Fischer 1 4-6 6, Sibley 6 0-1 12. Totals: 24 11-20 64.
Providence - Glenn 6 0-0 12, Hoss 2 1-2 6, Budz 2 0-1 5, Boker 1 0-0 2, Persak 8 0-0 22, Vandenberg 1 0-0 2, Barry 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 1-3 51.
St. Charles North 12 19 19 14 -64
Providence Cath. 15 7 16 13 -51
3-point baskets: SCN: Russell 4, Hackbarth; PC: Hoss, Budz, Persak 6.
Fouled out: PC: Budz, Glenn.