St. Charles North 64, Larkin 52
The Larkin girls basketball team came out Friday night looking to deliver Upstate Eight Conference opponent St. Charles North its first conference loss of the 2007-08 season, which would later prove to be a physical task.
In the end, the North Stars and 6-foot-4 junior post player Kelsey Smith prevailed, demonstrating why they remain in the running for the UEC title after recording the 64-52 victory over the Royals while improving to 7-0 in UEC play.
Early foul trouble took Larkin forward Sophie Sterricker out of the game for a fair portion of the first half which helped the North Stars jump out to a 38-20 halftime lead.
St. Charles North dominated on the boards allowing Smith (15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks), Jenna Bell (7 points, 5 rebounds) and Alex Messacar (6 points) to provide the bulk of first half scoring.
"We had too many turnovers," said Larkin coach Amy Silverman. "We lost it in the second quarter. They (St. Charles North) were given too many chances. You cannot give a team like North those opportunities.
"They had a ton of putbacks."
Second chances led the North Stars to a 6-0 first quarter run, and later a 13-0 run toward the end of the second quarter.
"It was a physical game," said North coach Katie Sauber. "The girls endured and I was very pleased with the way they handled themselves.
"They did a nice job of getting on the boards, and we got a lot out of our bench tonight."
Larkin (3-16, 1-5) showed no quit nearly matching the North Stars (15-4, 7-0) offensively in the third quarter 14-13, and outscoring them 19-12 to conclude the contest.
Larkin's Alyssa Burns led all scorers with 19 points to go with 4 assists and a pair of steals.
"Alyssa is a physical player," said Silverman. "She is a spark plug for this team, and she never stops competing."
Burns connected several times with both Laura Kay (13 points) and Sterricker (7 rebounds), who tallied 13 points, which she has done consistently over the past 3-4 games.
"Our defense played well, and our offense did a nice job of getting back in it late in the game," Silverman said.
"This team doesn't quit. I think that the fourth quarter proved that."
St. Charles North starting guard Anna Conrad added 8 points, while Caitlin Winkelman recorded 5 points and 8 rebounds. With 32 points off the bench, Stephanie Horton (7 points) Sara Skluzacek (5 points) each added timely buckets.
"The best kind of game for us is one where I can get all sixteen of my girls in and see them be successful," said Sauber. "Everybody contributed tonight."