St. Charles North passes Neuqua

Everything looked so promising for host Neuqua Valley for the first three quarters Saturday.

The Wildcats, playing without their injured starting point guard, had stayed practically even with St. Charles North until that point.

Neuqua trailed by only 2 points when the fourth period started, but then North Stars guard Kiley Hackbarth took over the game with her offensive, defensive and ballhandling skills and sparked a 17-2 run that led to a 50-36 St. Charles North victory.

Hackbarth, who had four points going into the quarter, scored 12 on drives, outside shots and from the charity stripe.

"Kiley's just a leader," said St. Charles North coach Colleen Brennan. "She's got a great ability to read the other team's defense. And today she shot well and defensively she owned the game."

Up until that point the Wildcats (1-6, 0-2) were in good position to win their first Upstate Eight Conference game.

Playing without injured point guard Megan Doody, Neuqua was tied 10-10 at the end of the first quarter and led 20-18 at halftime.

In the third quarter the Wildcats had a 27-25 lead with 90 seconds to play.

But then the North Stars' Tess Fischer hit a basket and Hackbarth closed the quarter with a pair of free throws to give St. Charles North the lead.

And in the fourth quarter everything fell apart for Neuqua Valley.

"We played as a team the whole game and we played with confidence," said Neuqua Valley center McKenzie Hughes. "And then we lost it completely. We were just a different team. We played without confidence and with our heads down. Early in the game we were rebounding well, but in the fourth quarter we couldn't even get a rebound."

Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams had high praise for Hackbarth.

"She was the difference-maker," Williams said. "She took over the game in the fourth quarter. She's a veteran and she knows how to play."

Hackbarth finished with 16 points, 5 assists and 6 steals, and forward Jenna Bell was also outstanding with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

"Our girls played with great mental toughness," Brennan said. "They did a greater job of blocking out today than they've done all season."

Williams, whose Wildcats are in a rebuilding year because of the transfer of four players who would have been in the regular rotation, was pleased with his team's effort but thought Neuqua just ran out of steam.

"We don't have much experience," he said. "The girls play hard, but Megan being out kills us. We have no penetration."

The Wildcats were 0 of 5 from the foul line. The North Stars (4-2, 1-1), were also cold on their foul shots, hitting 13 of 28.

Jenna Marsalli led the Wildcats with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and Bria Williams was the leading rebounder with 7. Taylor Francesconi added 8 points.