ACC continues taking steps forward
The firsts for the Aurora Central girls basketball program just keep coming - and the Chargers can thank their first quarter Saturday against Aurora Christian.
Aurora Central outscored Aurora Christian 17-4 in the first quarter, which was the difference in its 44-32 victory.
One night after winning their first conference game in five years, the Chargers are 2-0 in conference for the first time ever, doing it under first-year coach Mark Fitzgerald.
After going 3-23 a year ago, the Chargers like where they are at with a 5-4 record through nine games.
"We're very young but they have grown every game so far," Fitzgerald said.
"So far it is going really well. I like our momentum. I'm extremely pleased with what the girls are doing."
Both teams are young. Aurora Central (5-4, 2-0) starts three sophomores, while Aurora Christian (4-6, 0-2) only has one senior on its roster.
A putback basket by Eagles freshman Lisa Rodriguez tied the game at 2, the last time the game was tied. The Chargers ended the first quarter on a 15-2 surge, with Katilyn Rosa's 6 points inside leading the charge.
Aurora Central took its biggest lead of the night 23-6 midway through the second quarter.
The Eagles didn't go quietly, making their best run early in the third quarter by trimming the 17-point deficit to 6. Rodriguez (8 points) and Deana Cadena (game-high 13 points) led the comeback, along with Alyssa Henzel's work on the glass (13 rebounds).
"We just took a deep breath and got back (into our game)," Chargers sophomore Jacqueline Cardona said. "We did pretty good out there. I hope we continue to do that."
Fitzgerald credited the paly of senior Kendra Bradley with settling the team down after the Eagles rallied. Aurora Central closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run to open up a 37-23 lead heading to the fourth.
Cardona and Ashley Wilk scored 11 points and Rosa had 10, and all three are sophomores.
Aurora Christian coach Dan Stone was proud of his team for their play over the final three quarters when the outscored the Chargers 28-27.
"We were senior heavy last year," Stone said. "We are a young team as it showed in the first quarter. Immaturity sometimes sneaks up. We are going to have to fight through that."