Rebounding lifts Burlington Central

Second-year Burlington Central coach Stephanie Smith clarified her position on rebounding Saturday.

"Boards are big. We all know that," Smith said. "They win games sometimes."

Saturday's 46-34 victory over Lisle was one of those times.

Led by 6-foot-2 junior Brenda Thasavong and 6-2 senior Alli Setanni, the Rockets won the battle of the boards, in the first quarter in particular, to win their opening game in the Central High School Girls Basketball Thanksgiving Classic Tournament.

Thasavong led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Setanni added 12 points and 6 boards as the Rockets outrebounded Lisle 32-26.

"Having the height, we get rebounds," Thasavong said. "If Alli misses, I get a rebound. I miss, she gets a rebound. We work on that every day. It played out really well today."

"I guess our height helps us a lot," Setanni said. "We were able to just seal them behind."

It was the season opener for the Lions, whereas Central (3-1) was playing its fourth game of the week and it showed early.

The Rockets bolted to a 17-9 lead after one quarter, fueled by a 13-5 rebounding advantage that translated to second-chance buckets for Setanni and Jessica Laird (8 points).

"The first quarter really killed us," said Lisle junior Shelby Kretman, who led the Lions with 12 points. "Our intensity wasn't there. Throughout the game we got better and better but it wasn't enough."

Central finished with 8 offensive rebounds in the first half, the last of which resulted in an easy putback for junior Chloe Plum with 20 seconds left in the second quarter to allow the Rockets to take a 29-17 lead to the halftime locker room.

The teams played to a draw over the final 16 minutes. The Rockets upped their lead to a game-high 15 points on back-to-back baskets by Thasavong in the fourth quarter, the last courtesy of an effective high-low feed from Setanni.

"Brenda and Allie do a good job inside and attract a lot of attention," Smith said. "They have great hands and they click."

Mindful that her team still had another game in pool play later in the day, Smith pulled her starters with 2:40 remaining in the fourth quarter.