Larkin tops Harvest Christian with 22-0 second quarter
Eight minutes can make a big difference.
After one quarter, Larkin trailed 4-time defending champion Harvest Christian 20-12 in the 7th annual Elgin City Classic Girls Basketball Tournament at Chesbrough Field House. Then came the second quarter, in which the Royals outscored Harvest 22-0.
The Lions never seriously threatened in the second half as Larkin cruised to a 62-47 victory.
Ashley Miller scored 18 points and Aaliyah Dixon added 12 for the Royals. Miller also grabbed 12 rebounds as the Royals outrebounded the Lions 55-25.
The Royals shot just 32 percent from the field, but they attempted 100 shots - 75 field goals and 25 free throws - thanks to the huge rebounding margin and 21 Harvest turnovers.
Janelle Clements added 9 points and 12 rebounds and Karina Villa 8 points and 11 boards for Larkin.
Harvest's Maddy Martin was nearly unstoppable in the first period, scoring 12 points on a variety of inside moves and often off-balance shots. Larkin switched its defense to a box-and-one on Martin and slowed her down, but she still finished with a game-high 22 points. Madison Ellett added 8 for Harvest.
The Royals took the lead for good at 21-20 on a putback by Miller. Dixon scored 8 points and Villa 6 during the big second-quarter run.
"I think the first quarter's as bad as we could have played defensively and the second quarter was the best," said Larkin coach Steve Knapp. "We worked the ball around, got some shots inside and we finally came out and played a little defense."
The Royals, who beat Elgin in their first game of the tournament last week, didn't want to see their chances of winning the whole thing diminished with a loss.
"We felt we had a good chance of winning this tournament," said Miller. "We knew if we lost to this team our motivation would be down."
The Royals prevailed in a battle of undermanned squads. With several rotation players, including starter Brianna Young, out of action, they dressed just 10 players. Still, Larkin's bench was deep compared with Harvest, whose 6-player roster includes 4 freshmen. When Raja Tilian briefly left the court after being injured in the fourth quarter, the Lions had no reserves available and 1 starter playing with 4 fouls.