Cold shooting dooms Larkin
The Larkin girls basketball team held a 5-2 lead 2 minutes into Tuesday night's game against Harlem.
That is where the positives stopped for the Royals.
The Huskies held Larkin to only 6 field goals in the final 30 minutes as Harlem beat the Royals, 60-22, in the fifth-place game of the Burlington Central Thanksgiving Tournament.
"Offensively we were just weak today," Larkin coach Tissanie Simmons said. "The girls weren't attacking."
Larkin (1-3) got a basket from Victoria Patterson and a 3-pointer from Jill Casebeer in the opening 2 minutes to take the 5-2 lead. Harlem scored the next 8 points before Abigail Alvarez hit a 3-pointer for Larkin to cut the deficit to 10-8 with 1:04 remaining in the first quarter. That was the last field goal the Royals would hit for almost 10 minutes.
Allison Driskill and Paris Patterson each hit a free throw in the second quarter as Larkin was held to just 2 points in the quarter. The Huskies took a 28-10 lead into halftime as the Royals shot just 3-for-30 (10 percent) from the floor and 2-for-16 from behind the 3-point arc in the first half.
"We have some shooters and in order for them to be confident, they need to shoot," Simmons said. "If they are getting good looks, they need to take those opportunities. No holding back."
Victoria Patterson ended the Royals' field-goal drought with a basket 45 seconds into the third quarter. But Harlem scored the final 15 points of the quarter to take a 50-15 lead into the fourth. The Huskies led by as many as 42 in the fourth.
Casebeer led the Royals with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Alvarez and Victoria Patterson each added 5 points. Alvarez also had 5 rebounds, but the Royals were outrebounded 51-31. Larkin shot 8-for-60 for the game.
Kelli Ludwig's 15 points led Harlem. Jordan Fetters added 14. Naquira Manigault and Miranda Paddock each had 9 rebounds.
Burlington C. 58, Elgin 38: The Burlington Central and Elgin girls basketball teams opened their seasons against each other a week ago.
The two squared off again Tuesday night in the seventh-place game of the Burlington Central Thanksgiving Tournament. The result was the same, a blowout victory for the Rockets, who beat the Maroons, 58-38.
"It helps out. We're missing (Alison) Colby this week and she was the driving force against Elgin last week so to not have her tonight it was nice to see where we need to work on other areas," Central coach Jenna Real said. "That was a good thing for us."
Elgin (0-5) stayed closer longer in the second game, trailing by only eight, 26-18, at halftime. The Maroons were down by 18, 30-12, after the first quarter in the opener.
The Maroons led 4-2 after a pair of baskets from senior Bri Hamilton, but that would be Elgin's only lead. The Rockets (2-3) scored the next nine points to grab an 11-4 lead. Central led 19-10 before the Maroons went on a 7-0 run to get within 2, 19-17, with 3:46 remaining in the first half.
Elgin, which has lost 33 straight, would manage only a free throw the rest of the half as the Rockets took a 26-18 lead at halftime.
"I thought we came out and competed real well for the first 12 minutes," Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales said. "It's not enough to win a game yet, but we're getting closer all the time."
Central came out aggressive in the third quarter, scoring the first five points, all off Elgin turnovers. The Rockets forced nine Maroons turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the third and scored 12 points off those turnovers to take a 41-23 lead with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
The Rockets extended their advantage to 47-28 heading to the fourth as Jessica Laird scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the third quarter.
Cary-Grove 55, Lakes 42: Paige Lincicum led four players in double figures with 17 points to lead the Trojans (1-2) to their first win of the season in the Turkey Thriller at Lakes. Olivia Jakubicek added 13 points for Cary-Grove, while Katie Barker and Joslyn Nicholson had 11 each.
Westminster Christian 72, Chicagoland Jewish 13: Porsche Griggs had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Warriors (3-2 to a nonconference win. Mckaila Hays added 10 points for Westminster.