Bartlett pulls away from Rockford Auburn
Clinging to a 32-26 halftime lead over Rockford Auburn, Bartlett girls basketball coach Dave Mello spent most of the time talking to his team about the need for consistency.
"We challenged them at halftime to put up a good third quarter," said Mello.
Good is an understatement.
The Hawks (2-3) went on a 22-2 third-quarter tear to build a 54-28 lead and cruised to a 63-34 victory over Rockford Auburn during Saturday's final round of the Naperville Central Tip-Off Tournament.
"That is exactly what we were looking for - something along those lines," said Mello. "But we still need four quarters of consistent basketball."
Led by junior guard Kayla Hare's 23 points and career-high 14 steals, the Hawks forced a season-high 43 turnovers and finally capitalized at the offensive end in the third quarter.
Hare, who connected on three 3-pointers, tallied 5 points in a 4-second span, hitting a 3-pointer from the corner and adding a layup moments later after stealing the inbounds pass to help extend the Hawks' lead to 44-26 midway through the third quarter.
"She is playing the passing lanes well reading where the ball is going," said Mello. "She's playing really aggressive on defense."
"I felt like we made some mistakes but we picked it up on defense, forcing turnovers and getting our steals," said Hare.
When learning of Hare's final statistics, Mello wasn't too shocked.
"I wouldn't doubt those 14 steals because prior to yesterday the previous two games she broke the school record (for steals) in back-to-back games," said the coach. "First, she had 10 then 12 and now 14."
Hare, a third-year varsity player, added 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot against Rockford Auburn.
"We're asking a lot out of her and she's responding," said Mello. "She has a great basketball IQ. That's what we're trying to develop with all of them."
Junior Danielle Kleeman added 10 points and 4 rebounds while junior Miranda Hedeen came off the bench to score 6 points with 7 steals. Junior center Meghan Colley collected a team-high 5 rebounds.
"We have so many young players that we got to get into it - the varsity pace," said Hare. "It was good."
Bartlett, which knocked off Metea Valley 67-47 Friday, finished the rugged tournament with back-to-back victories following losses to Benet Academy, Naperville Central and Plainfield North.
"These are the games you want to play early in the year," said Mello.
Natia Patterson led Rockford Auburn with 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Bartlett visits St. Charles East Tuesday night in Upstate Eight Conference crossover action.