Rosner notches 299th win at Streamwood
Streamwood's girls basketball team has thrived this year when the Sabres play tough defense and have balanced scoring.
So while Saturday afternoon still had some post-holiday sluggishness to it, it was one of those good days for the Sabres.
With three players scoring in double figures and the defense creating 24 turnovers, Streamwood outlasted Batavia 53-39 in an Upstate Eight Conference River Division game at Streamwood.
The win was the 299th for Sabres' coach George Rosner in his Streamwood career. Overall, Rosner now has 341 career victories and can claim No. 300 at Streamwood when the Sabres close out a slow finals week with a Friday night game at St. Charles North. Saturday's win leaves the Sabres (14-3, 5-1) tied for first place in the loss column in the River with Geneva and St. Charles North.
“The first few minutes of the game we played excellent defense and the last four minutes we really clamped down. We went to a little trap and that was the ballgame,” said Rosner, an IBCA Hall of Famer who admitted his impending 300th win at Streamwood is something he's been looking forward to on a personal level.
Streamwood had Batavia (5-13, 3-3) chasing it all day. The Sabres used 4 quick points from Deja Moore to spark an 11-3 first quarter lead. Batavia made just 1 of 15 shots and turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter.
The Sabres then extended the lead to 19-6 early in the second quarter when sophomore Jessica Cerda nailed back-to-back 3-pointers. Cerda, who is coming off a July ACL injury, led Streamwood with 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers for the second straight game.
“I haven't really been contributing to my team and I know I have to step up my game and help out,” said Cerda.
It was Cerda's basket with 5 seconds left in the half that stopped a 9-0 Batavia run and left Streamwood ahead 21-15 at the break. The combined first-half shooting reflected the temperature inside the Streamwood gym, as the Sabres and Bulldogs went a frigid 12-for-59.
Things heated up in the second half and after a tight third quarter, a 7-0 run by Streamwood that ended with Cerda hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, staked the Sabres to a 37-30 lead entering the final 8 minutes.
Earlier in the quarter, though, Batavia had two chances to take the lead after coming within 1 at 30-29 on a putback by Michaela Strehlau with 1:28 left in the quarter. But the second of two consecutive turnovers on possessions that could have given the Bulldogs the lead resulted in a Moore basket that started the Sabres' game-sealing run.
Down 40-36 with 4:11 left in the game, Batavia failed to score from the field the rest of the game. Streamwood's 13-3 run to end the game kept the Sabres tied for first place in the conference.
“We all realized we needed to take over on defense because we didn't want another loss,” Cerda said. “We picked it up when we had to.”
Rosner likes what he sees in Cerda's game lately as his sophomore standout's knee continues to get stronger.
“She's really starting to play better,” he said. “She's been practicing more and getting more into her rhythm. Defensively she's using her quickness and she's got long arms and quick hands.”
Moore added 13 points and Emma Schmidt 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Sabres, who also got 10 rebounds and 4 important fourth-quarter points from Michelle Tomczak. Point guard Amanda Patterson had 6 points and 5 assists.
Senior Katie Baglieri led Batavia with 9 points. The Bulldogs shot just 12 of 54 from the field and 13 of 26 from the free-throw line.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” said Batavia coach Tim Debruycker. “We just didn't execute down the stretch like (Streamwood) did. We missed the front end of some one-and-ones and when you don't get a field goal in the final four and a half minutes, that makes it tough.”