Batavia bounces back, beats St. Ed
Perhaps the only good thing about Batavia's loss to St. Charles North on Wednesday night is that the Bulldogs only had to wait 24 hours to play again.
Batavia looked like a different team Thursday, scoring nearly as many points in the second half as they did all game against St. Charles North in a 58-52 victory over No. 20 St. Edward.
The Green Wave (5-2) defeated Batavia (4-3) in a nonconference matchup last year but the Bulldogs got even by continually coming up with a big bucket every time St. Edward got close.
"It (St. Charles North) was a tough loss to have so we wanted to come out and prove what kind of team we are," Batavia senior Tamar Norville said. "Our attitude going into the game (was the difference). We were more determined. We learned form the mistakes and what you didn't like you can fix it up and show what you can do."
Norville joined Kaytlin St. Clair as newcomers to coach Kevin Jensen's starting lineup and responded with 7 points in the first five minutes while St. Clair hustled for 4 rebounds.
"I told the girls I just wanted to start different," Jensen said. "No one did anything wrong. It was just a change for change's sake.
"Those two girls do well for us because they are both strong and athletic. They can defend a point guard to a center. Any offense they give us is a bonus."
Batavia led 13-10 after the first quarter. The Bulldogs held a lead nearly all night but never with much breathing room.
St. Edward didn't trail by more than 7 points. The Green Wave led just twice 20-19 at the end of the second quarter and 34-32 near the end of the third quarter.
Sami Villareal quickly put the Bulldogs back on top and started a 7-0 run in the final 1:08 of the third quarter with a 3-point play. She followed with a baseline jumper and then came up with a steal and assist to Norville to put Batavia up 39-34 going to the fourth quarter.
St. Edward got as close as 49-48 with 3:33 to play on two free throws by Rena Ranallo. Erin Bayram's free throw made it a 2-point lead, and after Alexandria Lee's shot rimmed out Norville's 8-foot baseline jumper on a feed from Liza Fruendt restored a 2-possession Batavia lead. Fruendt and Michaela Strehlau extended the final margin with 6 free throws in the final minute.
"Batavia is quick," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "They forced us out of what we wanted to do offensively a little bit especially in the first half. And their shooting the whole second half we were trading baskets. They were hot tonight."
Fruendt led Batavia with 18 points. She added 3 assists and a pair of steals and blocked shots.
Norville made the most of her start with 13 points while Bayram added 8.
"We did play pretty hard," Jensen said. "It's a tale of two nights. Last night we didn't have the urgency I hoped we would have. Tonight we clearly had that. We got off to a nice start and played pretty solid all night."
Madeline Kerr (14 points), Callie Johnson (11) and Katherine VonAhnen (10) all reached double figures for St. Edward.
"We weren't sharp on either end of the floor tonight," Dawson said. "Defensively we didn't get key stops when we needed them. We were never able to get the momentum going our away."