St. Charles East shows Neuqua Valley its best
St. Charles East's schedule forced Lexi Baltes to wait 48 hours to get back on the court following Tuesday's loss to West Chicago, though the senior was ready to go about 47 hours before that.
"I wanted to play right after the (West Chicago) game ended," Baltes said. "It was a tough loss and there's not much you can do about it but prepare the next day and come out and get a win."
That's just what the Saints did in their home and Upstate Eight opener Thursday, dominating Neuqua Valley in the first half on their way to a 42-32 victory.
The win left St. Charles East (3-4, 1-0) feeling a world different from Tuesday's 52-51 loss at West Chicago in a game they let a lead slip away in the closing seconds. That was the latest - and most frustrating - setback in a season that didn't start the way the Saints hoped.
"We knew we could play better," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said. "Tuesday night was a real slap in the face. Maybe it was the slap in the face we needed because this is how we needed to play. I really like the way we responded because I would say our frustration was at a peak after Tuesday night."
The Saints scored the first 10 points and never looked back. Senior point guard Lexi Baltes outscored Neuqua Valley herself in the first half, 15-11.
Kara Schnier added 8 first-half points as the Saints opened up a 31-11 halftime lead. Neuqua Valley struggled against St. Charles East's zone, first with 8 turnovers in the first quarter and then 1-of-13 shooting in the second.
"It was a credit to our defense as a whole, perimeter and inside," Baltes said. "There was just a lot of hustle tonight and that's what you like to see.
"You could just feel the energy in the gym. There was energy coming from all five of us together."
Drumtra liked Kala Sigona's work on the boards with a game-high 7 rebounds. The coach couldn't say enough about how well the Saints played in the first half, making 9 of 18 shots from the field, 12 of 14 at the free-throw line (led by Baltes' 8-8) and completely taking the Wildcats out of their offense with their aggressive zone.
"It was the best half we have had by far," Drumtra said. "I think it was the best half of basketball in every phase of the game. I liked our intensity level, we came out ready to play. Offensively we executed great. One more pass and we got some great looks at the basket. Defensively we threw them off with our zone. It's hard to run your offense when you are 25 feet out."
Neuqua Valley (1-5, 0-1) outscored the Saints 9-2 in the third quarter and 21-11 in the second half, pulling within 10 on Lauren Sager's 3-pointer in the final minute.
Wildcats coach Mike Williams didn't want to talk after the game while helping a couple of his players who suffered injuries. Assistant Dave Brouwer took his place.
"We held them to a total of 42 points which is well below the state average and we're not topping that," Brouwer said. "We're in the process of finding our identity on offense, finding the group of girls we can put on the court and get things done."
Sophomore guard Megan Doody, who made a pair of 3-pointers, left the game in the third quarter with what Brouwer called likely a sprained ankle, and he said the ankle will be evaluated Friday.
The Saints also received a scare when senior forward Jaime Rust went down with 3:12 left in the game and didn't return. Drumtra said Rust took a shot to her shin and was encouraged with how Rust looked after the game.
"I think she'll be OK," said Drumtra, whose team plays again Saturday against East Aurora. "She was walking around so that's a good sign."