St. Charles North's fast stark sinks Batavia

Speed, and aggressive defense, and more speed, lots of it. That's what St. Charles North's girls basketball team brought to the floor Tuesday night in Batavia, and it was how they came away with a 58-46 win.

The North Stars (7-8, 3-1 in the Upstate Eight) set the tone as soon as they hit the floor, challenging the Bulldogs with a full court press. The result was a 10-0 lead to start the game, 10 Batavia turnovers in the first eight minutes, and a 16-8 St. Charles North lead after one quarter.

"We wanted to start out strong and with a lot of intensity," St. Charles North guard Sidney Russell said.

The North Stars' defensive attack, and their ability to convert turnovers into points, got everyone into the flow, as six different players scored in the opening quarter.

"The press is a mindset," St. Charles North coach Coleen Brennan said. "We have an athletic team, but it takes a five person effort to do what can do. We have a lot of talent and confidence on this team."

Batavia (4-12, 2-2) did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second quarter, and thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Liza Fruendt, the Bulldogs managed to cut the lead to 16-13. But that was as close as they got, as the North Stars responded with a 12-3 run and led 30-18 at halftime.

"We fought back well, but the problem was we spotted them a big lead at the beginning," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. "I didn't think we'd come out like that at home."

Determined to play with the same intensity in the second half that they had shown at the start of the game, the North Stars turned to Taylor Russell (13 points), who had played very well in the first two quarters, and turned it on in a big way in the third.

"Tonight we came out and played as a team and with more consistency," Russell said.

As the fourth quarter began, the North Stars had a 48-30 lead and the game appeared to be over, but Batavia still had some fight left.

Throughout the game, Kate Booe had bottled up the lane as the North Stars controlled the boards.

"Everyone was crashing the boards tonight," Booe said. "(Batavia) was a little bit taller, but we were more physical."

Batavia's Katie Ryan made her presence known in the fourth quarter, scoring 7 of her team high 13 in the final eight minutes to pull the Bulldogs to within 10 with 1:28 left.

"Katie has been giving us a spurt all year," DeBruycker said.