St. Charles E. shuts down Larkin
After giving up 68 points during a holiday tournament loss to Schaumburg at Wheaton North last week, St. Charles East girls basketball coach Lori Drumtra decided to make defense a particular emphasis.
“We were giving up way too many offensive boards,” said Drumtra.
Something must have clicked because the Saints (10-8, 4-2) extended their winning streak to 4 with Friday night’s 59-36 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory over Larkin (1-14, 0-6) in St. Charles.
While limiting the Royals to 25 percent field-goal shooting (12-of-48), the Saints also enjoyed a sizable 42-28 rebounding edge.
“We’re starting to get into a little bit of a groove and putting some wins together which is kind of nice,” said Drumtra.
Junior guard Paige Jordan got the Saints off to a decent start by making her first 4 shots from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, on her way to a team-leading 15 points. St. Charles East led 14-8 after the opening quarter.
“The middle was open more often so we were able to drive and kick out,” said Jordan, who had 13 first-half points. “We had pretty good ball movement.”
Jordan’s driving layup kick-started a 10-0 run that allowed the Saints to turn a 9-8 advantage into a 19-8 lead in the first 2 minutes of the second quarter.
Despite the fact that the Saints held a 34-20 halftime edge, there were still a few rough edges.
St. Charles East committed 14 first-half turnovers (22 for the game) while allowing Larkin senior forward Jill Casebeer to connect on a pair of 3-pointers from the corner during her 12-point first half.
“That has been our major problem this year,” Jordan said of her team’s turnovers. “That’s what we’ve been trying to work on.”
After Larkin’s Victoria Patterson scored the first basket of the second half, the Saints seized control with a 12-3 surge that opened up a commanding 46-25 lead with 1:33 left in the third quarter.
Sophomore guard Amanda Hilton (11 points) keyed the run with 5 points, including a 3-pointer, while freshman Kyra Washington (8 points, 12 rebounds) added a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer.
“She has a lot of natural ability,” Drumtra said of the 6-foot-1 Washington. “She makes it look easy at times.”
Laney Deckrow and Morgan Vyzral chipped in with 7 and 6 points, respectively, for the Saints, who play host to Evanston tonight.
“The key for us in breaking down the defense is to be patient,” said Drumtra. “We’ve got a lot of people who can score but sometimes we tend to rush a bit.”
The addition of 6-1 sophomore center Jordan Shead to the Saints’ starting lineup has also helped.
“I feel like we’ve been doing a better job defensively,” said Drumtra. “I think Jordan Shead in particular has really helped us on the boards. The combination of the two of them (Washington and Shead) and Morgan (Vyzral) has really stabilized our rebounding.”
Casebeer scored 15 points for the Royals, who suffered their 14th consecutive loss.
“I thought the first half was amazing,” said Larkin coach Tissanie Simmons. “Our offense was going well and our transition game was up. I’m not sure if it was conditioning or not but we just couldn’t connect in the second half.”