Larkin pulls away from Elgin in second half
The first half between Elgin and Larkin was close all the way through but, shortly after halftime, the Royals suddenly took control.
Larkin outscored its crosstown rival 34-6 in the second half and pulled away for a 62-28 win in the Upstate Eight girls basketball contest at Larkin Friday night.
The game was the opener of a doubleheader with the boys' teams on Blackout for Easter Seals night.
Larkin led 28-24 after Elgin's Kamiyah Harvey made 2 free throws to open the second-half scoring. But a layup by Ashley Miller, a steal and layup by Janelle Clements and a bucket by Amber Allen got the Royals started on an 18-2 run to close the quarter. Larkin didn't let up in the fourth, outscoring the visitors 16-2 to turn a close game into a blowout.
Miller and Aaliyah Dixon scored 14 points each to lead Larkin. Allen finished with 13. Brianna Young had 10 rebounds to go with 8 points.
"We said in the locker room at halftime that we had to turn up the energy level," said Young, "And we came out and got a couple of quick scores and were able to keep it going."
Elgin's Dajha Cooper set a school record with 11 blocked shots. She also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Maroons (3-10, 1-7).
After a decent shooting first half, the Maroons couldn't find the range after the break, and Larkin took advantage.
"Offensively, we missed some shots and just didn't get into a very good flow in the second half," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales. "I thought that was the big key. They got some buckets and got a little spread in between and it was difficult to come back after that."
Emily Graves scored 10 points to lead Elgin while Harvey finished with 6.
Larkin never trailed, but couldn't put the Maroons away, at least in the first half. The Royals shot out to a 14-6 lead only to watch Elgin tie it at 16 on a shot by Cooper that capped an 8-0 run. Larkin pulled back ahead 28-18, but Graves scored 4 straight points to close the first half and make it 28-22 at the break.
After shooting just 26 percent in the first half, the Royals finished at 34 percent while holding Elgin to just 22 percent. Larkin forced 23 turnovers and outrebounded the visitors, 41-31. Besides Young, Dixon and Clements crashed the boards with 6 apiece.