Burlington Central handles Crystal Lake South
The last time Burlington Central senior Madelyn Menke suited up on her home court she took a shot to her chin against Dundee-Crown that knocked her out of the game and required four stitches.
Menke returned to the Burlington Central gym Wednesday with much happier and less painful results, a 54-29 Fox Valley Conference win over Crystal Lake South in which her stingy perimeter defense and effort on the glass were on full display.
The 5-foot-5 Menke hustled for 5 rebounds, helping her team to a 37-18 edge, and was responsible for 4 steals or deflections that contributed to 19 Gator turnovers - the type of effort her teammates have come to expect and appreciate.
"She does all the little things," senior Kat Schmidt said. "All the dirty work and it goes so unnoticed. And it's so important for us to win. She never cries, I've never seen her cry. She'll get pushed and shoved and get her chin split open. She's the smallest girl out there and she's getting all those boards. She's just amazing to play with because she does all the little things."
Schmidt also has overcome an early season injury, an ankle that sidelined her for the Rockets' Thanksgiving Tournament. She notched a double-double against Crystal Lake South (6-6, 3-2) with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Schmidt made three of the team's 10 3-point baskets including one from just inside half-court to cap the first half. Burlington Central (8-2, 4-1) trailed just once in the game, 4-2, and pushed its leads to 16-9 after one quarter and 33-14 at halftime.
"She is knocking shots down and it's good to see," Rockets coach Collin Kalamatas said. "And she gives us an even bigger lift on the boards."
Up 46-21 in the third quarter, the Rockets were closing in on a running clock until the Gators held them scoreless for a 7-minute stretch to get within 46-29. Elana Wells finally ended the drought with a drive as Burlington scored the game's final 8 points.
Wells finished with a game-high 18 points. She's closing in on 1,000 in her career, now with 962.
Lily Moretti added 13 points and four 3-pointers for the Rockets while Emily Rich and Maddie Scharrenberg shared scoring honors for the Gators with 7.
Crystal Lake South shot just 26.4% (9 for 34) to Central's 41.1.
"We struggled from the floor," Gators coach Mark Mucha said. "As a team in general we were kind of out of sync. We have had a lot of games here recently and not a lot of practice. I think we have some tired legs. We need a little break over Christmas and hopefully come back strong."