St. Charles East's size squashes Palatine
When game time rolls around for St. Charles East's Hannah Vitkus, the senior forward often lets out a sigh of relief.
Because unlike Saints practices when she goes up against sophomore Sara Rosenfeldt, Vitkus and Rosenfeldt are on the same team.
All that work in practice trying to box out Rosenfeldt sure pays dividends when Vitkus gets a chance at an opposing team like she did Monday morning in the opening round of Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
Vitkus grabbed 12 rebounds and added 9 points against No. 5 seed Palatine, leading the Saints to a commanding 37-17 edge on the boards, one of two key stats in St. Charles East's 54-43 victory.
"I do play Sara a lot," Vitkus smiled. "We're really tough in practice against each other so that helps us in the games."
Rosenfeldt was a terror on the boards as well, finishing with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. St. Charles East (5-7) will play Schaumburg (7-5), the No. 4 seed, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The Saxons beat the Saints 51-42 on Nov. 24 at Schaumburg.
"They are pretty intense," Palatine coach Mark Johnson said of Vitkus and Rosenfeldt. "Forty-one (Rosenfeldt) is a real, real good athlete. We tried to take her away on the inside but she got to the rim. She's a big body and did a nice job. You can talk about stopping her all you want but if you don't get out and stop her you are going to be in trouble."
All those rebounds led to the other key stat, St. Charles East's 27-of-34 shooting at the free-throw line. Palatine (4-9) finished 12 for 20, and many of the Saints free throws came when the Pirates fouled on one of St. Charles East's second or third chances. Rosenfeldt and Sam Munroe combined for 25 free-throw attempts.
"Their size got to us," Johnson said. "The rebounding and free throws, a lot of that was our fouling. Trying to be scrappy but we were just a little bit out of position."
After a slow start for both teams, Rosenfeldt scored late in the first quarter for an 8-5 lead. Kelly Rinker opened the second with a 3 to put the Saints up 6.
The Pirates made their best run of the game, 10 straight points including a pair of 3s from freshman guard Elena Porrata, to go up 15-11.
Sam Munroe hit her only basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the wing, to ignite a 10-0 Saints run on the way to a 23-17 halftime edge. One of the baskets came when Rosenfeldt found Vitkus inside after Vitkus had kept the possession alive by hustling to save a long rebound from going out of bounds.
"I just wanted to start off this tournament on a good note since we didn't start out great at our Thanksgiving tournament," Vitkus said of an 0-5 record at Schaumburg's Thanksgiving Tournament. "I just wanted to be a good contributor because I know sometimes I'm off on shooting so I thought I could rebound and do something else so Sara could shoot or Sam could shoot."
Vitkus stayed active on the glass in the Saints' 19-point third quarter. She followed her own miss for a 38-24 lead.
The Pirates got as close as 46-39 in the fourth quarter. On the Saints' next trip, Rosenfeldt scored and was fouled for a conventional 3-point play on a fourth-chance shot.
"I know we can work harder on that end of the floor getting in better position and working harder to get that rebound," Johnson said. "It's a work in progress."
Porrata led the Pirates with 14 points, a career high.
"She has been a total asset to us all season," Johnson said. "We just have to try to get the ball in her hands a little more. She was a bright spot today for sure."
Munroe added 12 points and Rinker 8 for the Saints, while Syd Rzepka and Brittany Shapiro both scored 10 for the Pirates.