St. Charles North does it again, will face Geneva for title

One of these days St. Charles North will find a way to beat St. Charles East with a hot-shooting night, though the North Stars continue to prove they can find a way to win even when their shots aren't falling.

So the North Stars shot 23.5 percent from the field Wednesday in the Class 4A St. Charles North regional semifinals? They still won 47-38, and they will get a crack at No. 1 seed and undefeated Geneva tonight in the regional title game.

How?

Start with defense: Nothing came easy for the Saints (15-13), who hit 14 of their 40 shots and just 1 of 12 from 3-point range.

Sydney Russell spearheaded the effort with 6 steals, one after another at key times in the second half.

Much of the night Russell guarded Saints star Lexi Baltes, who scored 9 of her 11 points in the second half, many on acrobatic left-handed scoops as Russell made her work for every point.

"Her defense lately is unbelievable," North Stars coach Colleen Brennan said. "She just has a knack for that ball. She is just playing tough while she progressed."

Timely baskets: The North Stars (21-9) didn't make many shots, but they came when they needed.

In the first quarter point guard Kiley Hackbarth went to the bench with 2:51 left with her second foul and didn't return the rest of the half.

But the North Stars were able to build the lead without her in the game with an 8-1 run after Hackbarth went out to go up 14-9 after one quarter.

Tess Fischer's 3-pointer put the North Stars ahead for the first time, 11-8. The Saints never regained the lead.

The biggest 3 came with three minutes left in the game and the North Stars clinging to a 37-34 lead. Center Dana Sibley swished a 3-pointer, which not only was the biggest shot in the game it was her only points.

Up 40-34 with 3:12 remaining, the North Stars led by at least 6 points the rest of the way.

"That was a nice little swing," Brennan said.

Getting to the line: This probably was the biggest way to overcome making just 12 field goals - going 20 of 34 at the free-throw line.

Hackbarth led the way getting there 12 times, including once in the fourth quarter when the fourth-year starter converted for her 1,000th career point.

"I'm so happy we won. Whether I got it (1,000 points) or not it didn't matter as long as we came out with the W," Hackbarth said. "It really wasn't the top priority."

Jenna Bell made 7 of her 10 free throws and Russell 5 of 7.

"That's great, that's easy points for us," Hackbarth said. "We love going to the free-throw line. We were in the double bonus fourth quarter. It let us be really aggressive."

The Saints made 9 of 12 free throws.

"That was frustrating," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said. "I just felt there were a couple times I didn't see it (a foul), we were in good position."

Trailing 21-17 at halftime, St. Charles East cut the North Stars' lead to 2 points on five occasions in the second half, to 1 point once and tied the game at 25-25, but never could regain the lead.

That one time the Saints tied it, they again forced a North Star miss on the next possession. But Taylor Russell grabbed an offensive rebound that led to Bell's 3-point play.

"I thought we started out really well, I was pleased with the flow," Drumtra said. "And then we kind of struggled a little bit. It seemed like every time we got within 2, we couldn't quite get over that hump. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit."

So that's how you win without shooting well. And that 23.5 percent shooting actually was better than the North Stars did the first time against the Saints, 21.1 percent. And they won that game too, 33-21.

Just imagine what the North Stars could do if their shots start falling, which they hope happens tonight against Geneva.

"It's not about me, I'm so excited for them," Brennan said of her first postseason win. "We talked about taking advantage of this moment. I'm so excited for them, especially the seniors. What a blessing for me as a first-year head coach. I couldn't be more proud of this group and how they have come together."

The Saints graduate senior starters Kara Schnier (13 points), Baltes, Steph Roan, Jaime Rust and Kala Sigona.

"Kind of up and down," Drumtra said. "We got off to a slow start, we had a nice Christmas tournament, just lost a lot of games by less than five points. I thought we could have done a little better but I'm so proud of them. I'm going to miss all the seniors for what they've done for the program. They have set the bar for the other kids to follow."