Hackbarth's scrappy defense keeps impressing Brennan

For four years St. Charles North senior point guard Kiley Hackbarth has been making life difficult for whichever player she is guarding, so much so that her first-year coach Colleen Brennan had this to say following Saturday's 33-21 win over St. Charles East.

"I wouldn't want Kiley guarding me," Brennan said.

Brennan couldn't say enough good things about the defensive job Hackbarth displayed on the Saints' leading scorer Lexi Baltes, who was held to 7 points, or 7 below her average.

"Outstanding. All over her," Brennan said. "She's a great defensive player."

Brennan also has been impressed with Hackbarth's leadership. The Rhode Island recruit is averaging 10 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 steals a game - but just as important as those numbers are the intangibles she brings to the 15-7 North Stars.

"She's such a leader on this team," Brennan said. "She makes everyone feel comfortable, looks for openings for them. They are so lucky to have her. She had an outstanding game on both ends (against St. Charles East), played smart and played tough on Lexi. One of her better games."

While disappointed with the loss, Baltes said she enjoyed the matchup because she is friends with so many of the North Stars, including Hackbarth.

Baltes can reach 1,000 points in her career with 7 tonight against Oswego.

"It's fun, we know everybody on their team," Baltes said. "It makes it a little more exciting, a little more riding on it."

Saints coach Lori Drumtra, while mystified by how her team scored just 21 points, certainly was proud of her team's defense, too.

"I thought we played our hearts out on defense," Drumtra said. "It seemed we couldn't get the ball to bounce our way, a call to go our way. It was a war under there."

Neither coach could believe the 7-6 halftime score.

"When I looked at the scoreboard and it was 7-6 at half, I looked at an assistant and said, 'Would you ever believe an East-North game is 7-6?' I think there was a lot of adrenaline at the beginning of the game," Drumtra said.

"When you are struggling like that things aren't bouncing your way every possession becomes momentous. It was frustrating on a lot of levels and I know they were frustrated too."

The Saints can't let the loss keep them down. At 6-1 in the Upstate Eight, they still have a chance to catch leader Waubonsie Valley.

"We're still fighting for a conference championship," Baltes said. "We'll see what happens ."