Fruendt catches fire as Batavia shoots by St. Charles N.

For the first 14 minutes of Batavia's home game with St. Charles North on Tuesday night sophomore Liza Fruendt couldn't catch a break.

For the next five minutes Fruendt couldn't miss.

Fruendt blistered the nets for 15 points in that five-minute stretch, helping Batavia turn an early 8-point deficit into a double-digit lead on its way to a 51-42 victory.

Fruendt finished with a game-high 21 points. She did it in her first game back after dislocating her pinkie on her shooting hand last Tuesday going for a rebound at Oswego East, and she said while sore her finger didn't bother her too much.

"Once you get in the game you kind of run on adrenaline," Fruendt said. "I don't think about it at all.

"It's pretty good. It's healing. It's a little sore. A little crooked and purple. I've gotten over it and learned to cope with it. It's going to be sore for awhile."

Batavia (8-9, 2-3) needed Fruendt's offensive explosion after St. Charles North (5-14, 4-3) played a strong first quarter in its bid to repeat an earlier Upstate Eight Conference River Division win over the Bulldogs.

Junior Alex Silverman, who scored 20 points in that first meeting, started the scoring with a 3-pointer. Batavia missed its first 12 shots and trailed 9-1 before Miranda Grizaffi beat the first-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer.

"Once I hit a 3 we got going and then Liza started hitting shots," Grizaffi said. "Everyone got really pumped up for this game."

Silverman scored the North Stars' first 5 points in the second quarter as the they matched their biggest lead at 14-6.

Grizaffi drove for a basket and later hit a 3 that brought Batavia within 18-13. Fruendt got on the board with a runner. After Grizaffi's 3 tied the game at 18, Fruendt followed with a 3 from the top of the key and then a floater just before the halftime buzzer.

That gave Fruendt 7 points in the final two minutes of the first half and sent the North Stars to the locker room down 23-18 after they had been leading most of the way.

"Our defense looked very strong in the first quarter," St. Charles North coach Colleen Brennan said. "We have been working hard on basic fundamentals. We're having a hard time playing consistently for four quarters, sustaining that energy, sustaining that composure has been difficult for us."

Fruendt started the third quarter where she left off in the second. She swished a 3 after Michaela Strehlau's offense rebound gave Batavia a second chance.

Fruendt followed by penetrating for a basket and then another 3 that put the Bulldogs up by double figures for the first time at 31-20.

"Once you hit one you can go, you can run," Fruendt said. "I finally hit one and it was good from there. That's when my adrenaline was high and pumping."

Batavia senior Heather Anderson connected on a 3-pointer to end the third quarter for a 38-28 lead, the third straight quarter Batavia scored in the final seconds.

"It helps when we have a couple people finally knock some shots down from the outside with a little more consistency," said Batavia coach Kevin Jensen.

Jensen also was pleased with a defensive effort that held the North Stars to 16-of-46 shooting.

Tamar Norville, who sang the national anthem, and Kaytlin St. Clair helped lead the charge with 3 steals each. They also helped offset the loss of center Katie Ryan, who was ill and didn't play.

"In the last three quarters we were getting to loose balls, we were making them uncomfortable with some of their catches," Jensen said.

Megan Booe led the North Stars with 12 points and Silverman added 9.

"I thought they worked harder than we did," Brennan said.