Turnovers short circuit Elgin in loss
The Elgin girls basketball team had hoped to improve upon its 32-turnover performance in Tuesday's season-opening loss to Burlington Central with a sharper outing against Belvidere North Saturday.
However, the Maroons struggled to maintain control of the ball with two starters out of the lineup “for school reasons” and were unable to keep up with the Blue Thunder in a 66-13 loss at the Burlington Central High School Girls Basketball Thanksgiving Classic Tournament.
Elgin committed 40 turnovers, a rate of one every 48 seconds, and couldn't get much offense going.
“We need to hold onto the ball and have better ball control,” Elgin senior Amanda Haugan said. “We just need to stay together as a team and stay positive and we'll work through it.”
Despite the lopsided defeat the Maroons were able to take some positives from the early season nonconference game. Specifically, they were pleased to match Belvidere North (2-1) with 30 rebounds.
“We did a good job of rebounding out of the zone (defense), which I was worried about us being able to do because we got crushed on the boards in the first game against Burlington Central,” Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales said. “We gave up 33 offensive rebounds against Central.”
The Maroons' inability to keep possession of the ball completely short-circuited their offense. Elgin (0-2) committed 14 turnovers in the first quarter and managed only 4 shots. Belvidere North led 17-0 before Jessica Ramirez put the Maroons on the board with a pair of free throws with 2:57 left in the first quarter.
“I really thought our girls set the tone by getting a lot of pressure on the ball, which generated easy opportunities for us and we capitalized,” Belvidere North coach Mike Bradford said. “Once we had it going I just saw the confidence level rise and the girls played well.”
The Blue Thunder then scored 12 more points consecutively before Briana Hamilton put home Elgin's first field goal of the game, a 10-foot jumphsot, with 3:44 left in the second quarter.
“We were struggling, definitely,” said Hamilton, a senior who snared 7 rebounds. “It's all about how we practice. We just have to work harder so we do better in the game.”
With a scheduled second game later in the afternoon against Woodstock in mind, Bumbales limited his starters' minutes after the Blue Thunder jumped to a 20-point lead and led 33-6 at the half.
“You know you're playing two games and you know the second one is a game you should be more competitive in,” Bumbales explained. “The gym's a little warm so I wanted to rest them and put a fresh group out there for the second game and hope to win it.”