Batavia impressive in 2007 finale

The Batavia girls basketball team ended 2007 with a persuasive win and a third-place trophy.

The Bulldogs topped Yorkville, 59-33, in the third place game of the Oswego Holiday Classic Saturday.

The Bulldogs went 2-2 in the tournament with back-to-back wins over two fellow Western Sun Conference opponents, Geneva and Yorkville.

"(Third place) is a good spot to be in because this tournament had good teams in it," Batavia junior Natalie Tarter said. "We started off kind of bumpy, but we are glad where we are now."

Neither Yorkville nor Batavia came out playing well right away. The first basket of the game was made by Tarter at the 4:07 mark. The Bulldogs missed their first 4 shots while the Foxes missed their first 11 before a free throw put them on the scoreboard with 1:31 left to play in the first.

Batavia (10-2) ended the first on a 7-0 run, which included Tarter's 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave the Bulldogs a 12-4 advantage.

"They were playing a little tight, a little worried, but then all of the sudden, they were laughing and goofing," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said of the team's reaction after Tarter's 3-pointer.

"That was crazy," added Tarter, who said she has never hit a shot like that before. "That made us feel more confident about our lead."

That 7-0 run turned into a 14-0 run, as Kelsey Oswald, Tracy Ferguson and Kara Lydon helped push the Bulldogs' lead to 18-4.

Batavia ended up leading 32-15 at the half after a 20-point second quarter.

"We controlled it from there and never let them back in the game," DeBruycker said.

The Bulldogs' lead grew and grew, as their largest lead of the game arrived with 3:36 remaining after a JoAnna Wagner free throw put the score at 56-29.

Tarter, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Bulldogs with 14 points, 5 steals and 7 rebounds. Oswald ended up with 13 points off the bench and Lydon finished with 10 points.

Glenbard East 56, Geneva 51:ŒNever mind the Vikings placed sixth overall at Oswego's Holiday Classic Saturday. Where the team placed in the end was not something of huge concern for coach Gina Nolan.

"It's not about the place for us, it's about trying to get better as a team and trying to find the right combination of people on the floor," Nolan said. "Just learning and growing. We've had three close games here, and that's what helps down the road. That's what it's all about for us."

Glenbard East, however, was incredibly happy with its fifth-place effort and improved to 7-7 overall.

"That was definitely a good game for us," Glenbard East coach Nicole Miller said. "We had some ups and downs this week, so it was nice to come out. Both teams played really hard and battled from the tip-off. It was a fun game to coach and I thought the kids played really well."

The Vikings were playing without starting guard Emily Hinchman, who twisted her left ankle against Batavia Friday.

"It hurt not to have Emily out there, but that's part of the game," Nolan said. "But other people stepped up and played well."

The game was close all the way through. At the break, the Rams led 26-25.

After several ties in the third, Glenbard East was up 42-41 after three quarters.

Glenbard East's largest lead of the second half was 56-49 after a pair of free throws from Jackie Foreman with 18.5 seconds left in the game.

"It was a battle, and that's a great type of game to play in," Nolan said. "But again, it was a good experience and I'm glad we played a nonconference team versus playing a conference team, so that was good."

Taylor Whitley, Geneva's lone all-tournament team member, led the way with 21 points while Lauren Wicinski added 10 for the Vikings (11-4).