Girls basketball: Burlington Central rolls past Crystal Lake South

Monday’s girls basketball game between Burlington Central and Crystal Lake South carried big stakes in the Fox Valley Conference.

With both teams vying to remain near the top of the standings, the Rockets wore the Gators down with their transition offense and full-court defensive pressure. Julia Scheuer led with 18 points and six rebounds, while Audrey LaFleur drilled four 3-pointers — three in the first half — as Burlington Central beat Crystal Lake South 48-33.

“I think it’s a really important win for conference,” said LaFleur, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds. “When we push it in transition and we get back on defense right away … I think that’s what gets us going.

“I just ran up and down the court and shot it.”

Playing without injured guard Laken LePage, who wore a walking boot, Crystal Lake South (18-6, 9-4 FVC) had a tough time initiating offense. The Gators had just four points on two made field goals in the first quarter and faced a 27-14 deficit at halftime. Rebounding was the team’s saving grace, as Crystal Lake South outdueled Burlington Central 45-29 on the boards.

“Everyone contributed with rebounding in so many ways,” said Crystal Lake South forward Tessa Melhuish, who pulled down 18 rebounds. “Everyone stepped up tonight, especially since we didn’t have Laken in. We needed everyone to step forward, and it could’ve been easy for us to not do our best because we were down a player, but everyone worked hard, and it was good to have that support.”

The Rockets (18-8, 12-2 FVC), who moved into first place in the conference standings after Cary-Grove’s buzzer-beating win over Huntley, held the Gators scoreless for almost five minutes to start the game. Using relentless full-court pressure and targeted man-to-man defense, Burlington Central converted layups off Crystal Lake South turnovers. The Rockets led 15-4 after one quarter.

“We were definitely talking a lot in the first half,” said Burlington Central guard Ashley Waslo, who totaled five points, five rebounds and three assists. “We were getting out on their shooters quickly, which caused them to not be able to shoot as much. … We were switching on everything, which worked really well for us.”

The Gators, who were also without junior guard Gracey LePage, attempted to run their offense through guards Gaby Dzik and Makena Cleary. But neither Dzik nor Cleary were able to get going against the Burlington Central defense, which continued to thrive on turnovers in the second half. The Rockets, who assisted on 11 made shots, grew their lead to 19 in the fourth quarter.

“I think we thrive when it comes to getting turnovers and pushing the ball,” Waslo said. “We always have someone running down the court, which is really good, and we’re always looking up to find that open player. Once we do that, we always get into this little rhythm and we keep going. We keep pushing it, and it just always works.”

Crystal Lake South did well to rebound its missed shots, but the Gators couldn’t overcome a tough night from the field. Dzik ended with 11 rebounds, eight points and three assists, while Cleary had nine points. Melhuish chipped in six points, and Riley Travis stepped up with six points and eight rebounds for the Gators.

“(Laken) is definitely a very strong player on our team,” Melhuish said. “It was definitely different. With a different team out there, we needed to adapt. It shouldn’t affect how we play as a team. We still communicated well, and we’re all good teammates who helped each other, whether it was on defense or screening and cutting.”

Crystal Lake South, which fell to Huntley in overtime Friday night, will host Prairie Ridge on Wednesday seeking to snap a two-game losing streak.

Burlington Central, which received three points, four rebounds and five assists from freshman Scarlett LaFleur, has won six straight games and will play at Dundee-Crown on Wednesday.