Addison Trail 'rusty' in rout

Despite a dominant 46-23 victory over Plainfield Central, Addison Trail coach Rob Schader still thinks his Blazers have their best effort ahead for the Oswego East Winter Classic Tournament.

“We were a little rusty,” Schader said. “While we did shoot the ball pretty well, we were mentally sloppy and turned the ball over.”

In the opening tournament game for both teams, the Blazers (7-5) rushed out to an early 12-2 first-quarter lead. Senior Jazmin Little drained two 3-point shots and a trio of Blazers added a bucket each. It was much of the same in the second quarter as the Blazers went on a 17-4 run midway through the second quarter. Plainfield Central ended the quarter with two quick baskets but trailed 29-10 going into the half. Junior JoAnn DiNatale buried a couple 3-point baskets and finished the game with 11 points. Junior guard Jessica Kaminski led all Plainfield Central shooters in the quarter with 5 points.

“Quite honestly, we actually played well for what we have right now,” Plainfield Central coach Mark Krusz said. “Basketball is a game of conditioning, and it wasn't quite there for us today.”

The third quarter was kinder to the Wildcats. Junior guard Alex Harrison had a pair of baskets, and the Wildcats forced several turnovers in a defensive-minded third quarter.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Blazers. They outscored the Wildcats 9-6 to wrap up their dominant performance. Schader wanted to see a more rounded performance in the second game of the tournament.

“We're going to want to take care of the ball better and definitely rebound a little better,” Schader said. “It will be a good challenge for us in the next game for sure.”