Elgin finally ends losing streak

A very long and very frustrating losing streak finally came to an end at Chesbrough Field House Thursday night.

Down by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, and well on its way to extending the state's longest current losing streak to 45 games, the Elgin High girls basketball team roared back behind 6-foot senior standout Briana Hamilton and beat crosstown rival Larkin, 51-49, in Upstate Eight River action at Elgin High.

"It's awesome," said Hamilton, who scored 18 of her career-high 30 points in the fourth quarter while playing the entire period with four fouls. "We've busted our butts for so long. I'm ready to keep it going now."

Elgin's last win came in regional play on Feb. 14, 2010 when the Maroons beat Larkin 52-23. The Maroons' last regular-season win also came against the Royals, 50-31, on Dec. 3, 2009. Elgin's last win against a team other than Larkin came on Feb. 10, 2009 against Streamwood.

"I always say the players win games and the coaches lose them," smiled Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales. "The girls won this one. They haven't talked about the streak. It was my streak, not theirs. They come out every night and play hard and compete. I'm proud of the kids. They did a great job."

While Elgin (1-16, 1-4) did play hard all night, it was Larkin (3-15, 0-6) that was the aggressor for most of the night. With Hamilton in foul trouble, the Royals were able to penetrate, kick out and hit 8 3-pointers on their way to a 43-29 lead entering the fourth quarter.

But then a determined Hamilton came back on the court and literally took over the game. She made 8 of her 10 field goal attempts in the final period and had 6 of her 15 rebounds in the quarter.

"She really put the team on her shoulders," said Bumbales of Hamilton, who is being heavily recruited by Division III Benedictine University.

"I really think she's the best player on our side of the conference. She went out of her way to make sure we won tonight. She's a three-year varsity player and she played very smart. I'm really proud of her."

Elgin's comeback actually occurred in the final 4 minutes, 30 seconds of the game. Larkin's Stephanie Leon hit 2 free throws to give her team a 47-35 lead with 5:02 to play, but 32 seconds later Hamilton scored to start the Maroons on a 10-0 run that brought them to within 47-45 after a Hamilton bucket with 2:05 left.

With 1:42 to go, Allison Driskill scored Larkin's last points of the game, a basket that gave the Royals a 49-45 advantage. But Hamilton scored at 1:33 to make it 49-47 and after Larkin missed the front end of a 1-and-1, she put back a Jessica Ramirez miss to tie the game with 1:08 to play.

Over the next 26 seconds, the excited teams turned the ball over five times, until Elgin sophomore Maggie Powers was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Maroons a 50-49 lead with 42 seconds left. Larkin was unable to control the rebound and even though Elgin missed 2 free throws with 35 seconds left, the Maroons again got the offensive rebound as senior co-captain Kenyatta Scales sneaked into the lane to grab the loose basketball.

With 22 seconds to go, Powers hit 1 of 2 again to give the Maroons a 51-49 lead and Larkin was unable to make its final two shot attempts to tie. The Royals finished the game with three starters on the bench having fouled out.

"We just rushed it and made too many mental mistakes," said Larkin coach Tissanie Simmons, whose team committed 13 of its 31 turnovers in the fourth quarter. "That caused Elgin to get some confidence and we were just too over anxious. We told the girls that they can't play their game, that it has to be a team effort. It's very disappointing."

Elgin got a strong effort from Ramirez, a sophomore who scored 8 points and had 10 rebounds. Sophomore Tamara Milosevic came off the bench when Hamilton got into foul trouble and pulled down 10 rebounds. Anna Eckholm had 4 steals, Powers added 6 points and junior Kristin Tayag had 5 points for the Maroons. Elgin shot 20-for-58 on the night and outrebounded Larkin 52-37. The Royals made just 17 of 60 shots.

"We finally stopped the snowball. Now it's time to get the snowball going the other way," said Bumbales, whose team will go for two in a row Saturday night in nonconference play at Westminster Christian.

Jill Casebeer led the Royals with 14 points, while Abigail Alvarez (8 rebounds) added 11 and Maggie Hofmann and Tori Patterson (8 rebounds) had 9 each.