Streamwood tops Larkin despite 34 from Kyles

Both Larkin and Streamwood girls basketball teams' top scorers found themselves in foul trouble in Tuesday night's game at Larkin and spent large chunks of the game on the bench.

The Sabres adjusted to the situation better than the Royals did in Streamwood's 65-47 Upstate Eight River win.

Jenejha Williams, the Sabres' leading scorer, picked up 3 fouls in the first half and was whistled for her fourth infraction with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. With Larkin's tenacious defense and limited playing time, Williams was held to 11 points with 7 in the first half.

Maddi Exline, Andrea Bracy, and Becky Roncone filled the scoring void for Streamwood, all hitting double figures.

Exline, benefiting from a tightly called game, connected on 7 of 9 free throw attempts and scored 15 points. Roncone notched 13 points and Bracy tallied 12.

"Jenejha got into some foul trouble and struggled finding her spot on the floor. They did a good job defensively on her," said Streamwood coach George Rosner. "But you know what, everyone else picked it up, we got some nice outside shots. Everybody got in the game and contributed - that's how you win."

Marlee Kyles, Larkin's all-time scoring leader, also was called for 3 first half fouls. Unfortunately, the Royals were unable to score without her on the floor. The Arizona-bound senior still led all scorers with 34 points to run her career total to 1,857.

"Our offense was like a light switch, we turned it off when she came out," said Larkin coach Steve Knapp. "We just didn't have any fire in us today."

Larkin (10-13, 3-6) only trailed 8-7 when Kyles went to the bench with her second foul with less than 3 minutes left in first quarter. Streamwood (10-10, 4-5) scored the last 6 points to lead 13-7 after the first eight minutes.

Kyles also sat out most of the second quarter after being called for her third infraction 2 minutes into the frame with Larkin trailing 15-10. The Sabres went on a 22-5 run to end the half with a 37-20 lead.

With Kyles on the floor for the entire third quarter, the Royals narrowed the gap. Kyles connected on 2 free throws at the 2:10 mark for Larkin to pull within 8, 43-35, but that was as close as the Royals got.

"We cut it to eight in the third quarter and momentum was in our favor but we just didn't have enough gas in our tank," Knapp said.