Bayram takes control inside leading Batavia past Burlington C.

Tim DeBruycker had his team and fans wish him a “happy 25th birthday” on Thursday night, even though the Batavia girls’ basketball coach is 42.

They also had balloons and cupcakes to celebrate the occasion on a night when the host Bulldogs were ready to square off in a non-conference contest against Burlington Central.

But it was Burlington Central that gave DeBruycker his biggest surprise gift of the night, when the Rockets’ 6-2 center Brenda Thasavong was a scratch from the starting lineup because of illness.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Rockets proceeded to the turn the ball over 29 times and hit only 10 of 38 shots from the floor in allowing Batavia to steamroll to a 53-22 victory.

With Thasavong and her 10.5 points and 9.4 rebounds a game out of the lineup, Batavia freshman center Erin Bayram took advantage by tallying a game-high 13 points and team-high seven rebounds.

“That was an advantage for us,” Bayram said of Thasavong’s absence. “She is one of their leading scorers, but I think we did a good job all around. I was just making sure I was getting my feet set and finishing the shots.”

Central led for the last time at 9-8 late in the first quarter, and Batavia took off from there by forcing six straight turnovers that ignited a 19-5 run that put the game on cruise control.

It was an equal-opportunity offense for Batavia (7-15) as Miranda Grizaffi came off the bench to fire in three 3-pointers on her way to 11 points, while freshman Liza Fruendt chipped in with 10 points and three steals, and Kate Baglieri added 9 points.

When Fruendt’s steal and breakaway layup gave Batavia a 31-16 lead in the third quarter, she followed it up with a three-point shot while Grizaffi bagged one of her treys, and Bayram got a traditional three-point play on an inside power move. Fruendt then finished off the period with another steal and layup for a 42-20 lead.

“We got it up to a pretty good lead and kept the tempo up and wouldn’t let down,” said Fruendt. “We just made sure we got to every ball and every rebound, and that was what we worked on in practice yesterday.”

Burlington Central (10-13) could never get into an offensive flow, as many turnovers came when the Rockets kept trying to feed Alli Settani (team-high 8 points) in the post.

“Batavia did a great job and our kids didn’t really come out to play, and we were missing Brenda in the post, but it doesn’t matter to me,” Central coach Stephanie Smith said. “You have to play hard and hustle and want it, and Batavia wanted it more tonight.

“My guards are young, but it is January now, so young does not matter to me anymore,” Smith said. “They have to be patient to see it and do it, and if it is not there, then don’t do it.”

DeBruycker was happy to see his team execute a smothering zone defense, while also taking care of the ball on offense.

“We got contributions from a lot of different players, which is what we need down the road,” DeBruycker said. “It was one of our better ball-handling nights, and we didn’t turn the ball over a lot.”

“It was nice to see so many girls step up and score tonight,” DeBruycker said. “I gave Erin the start tonight because I thought Thasavong would be in the lineup, and when she couldn’t start, it turned out that we had the bigger lineup.”

Batavia will now hope to translate its solid performance into an upcoming Upstate Eight game, as it plays at St. Charles North on Tuesday.

“We worked really well as a team and we were passing the ball well,” Bayram said. “I think that this game gave us confidence and it will really help us.”