Wrap: Saints top Larkin in overtime

Lexi Baltes' 20-point performance led the St. Charles East girls basketball team to a 64-60 overtime win against Upstate Eight Conference opponent Larkin in St. Charles Saturday.

The Saints also got a good performance from Ashley Miller, who scored 13 points.

Glenbard South 58, St. Francis 45:ŒIt took 3 ½ quarters for host Glenbard South to finally shake St. Francis, yet the Raiders had a sense all along that they would win Saturday's nonconference girls basketball game in Glen Ellyn.

That's not to say the Spartans did not throw a few scares into the Raiders (16-7) before eventually falling 58-45. After all, St. Francis senior Shannon Phillips drilled 3 straight 3-pointers early in the contest as the visitors went ahead 13-10 just 4½ minutes into the game. On top of that, after Glenbard South had built up double-digit leads for much of the afternoon, St. Francis (10-14) closed the gap to 38-35 late in the third quarter and got within 43-40 with just over six minutes left to play in the fourth following a 3-pointer by freshman Kelly Reinke.

"A lot of the girls know each other from playing together in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn," Raiders coach Julie Fonda said. "We kind of let them back in a couple of times, but it was nice to see us step up and be passionate after they had their runs."

When Phillips' trio of 3s and a pair of baskets inside from Jennifer Eldridge staked the Spartans to an early lead, the Raiders closed the first quarter with a 10-0 run for a 20-13 lead. It was 33-25 Glenbard South at the half as Danielle Pipal tallied 9 points and Jess Muniz 6 in the first two quarters. But Jamie Stefely helped keep St. Francis close by scoring 7 of her 11 points off the bench before the break.

With the guard trio of Nikki Simpson, Muniz and Pipal each scoring in double figures -- along with 13 points and 6 rebounds from forward Alicia Engelhardt -- the Raiders seemed to take control of a Spartans team playing without ill point guard and team leader Catherine Culligan. But Reinke, who's learning about varsity basketball on the fly in Culligan's absence, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half along with 4 free throws to finish with 13 points and help keep the visitors close until the end.

"Our freshman played well," St. Francis coach Leslie Fay-Dehn said. "With Culligan not here she's getting a lot of minutes. And as a team our kids are hitting a lot more shots."

But it was the Raiders who hit more shots, especially when it was time to answer a run by St. Francis. Additionally, Muniz and Pipal each had 3 steals, usually picking just the right time to swipe a Spartans pass and convert it to a quick basket on the other end.

"Our defense was big," Muniz said. "They had some runs, but we felt like we were in control."

-- Stan Goff

Boys swimming

Fox Valley Invite:ŒOne of the goals the Neuqua Valley boys swimming team has set for itself is to break the national record in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

While they weren't breaking any records Saturday, Wildcats teams finished first and second in the 200 free relay on the way to winning the championship at the Fox Valley Invite at Waubonsie Valley.

With the scores of the freshman and varsity events combined, the Wildcats scored 758 points, compared to 476 by second-place Naperville Central. Naperville North was third with 436 followed by Waubonsie Valley with 397.

Vincent Soto of West Aurora finished second in the diving with 331.70 and the Blackhawks' Corey Buzzard was third with 316 points. It was the first time Soto outscored Buzzard in a big 11-dive meet, according to coach Joe Neukirch.

"Corey's been our top guy and Soto and Jamie Buzzard (who finished sixth on Saturday) have been fighting for the second spot on our sectional team," Neukirch said.

"This was a defining moment for Vinni. It's the best meet he's ever had. He has improved so much. He's really worked hard. Last year he didn't realize he could be this good. Now he knows he can compete. I think both of them have solidified their spots for the sectional lineup. Corey has a very good chance for state and Vinni is looking solid.

"They feed off each other and motivate each other. Though Chris Murray won the diving, with three divers in the top sixth, we scored the most points in the event. And because the diving was held last night, we started the day in first place in the meet."

-- Neil Shalin