Quick start propels Burlington Central over Elgin

There's nothing like a little 17-2 run to open a game to get those season-opening jitters out of the way.

That's what the Burlington Central girls basketball team hit visiting Elgin with Tuesday night as the Rockets eventually rolled to a 72-47 nonconference win in the season opener for both teams on Rocket Hill.

"That's what we want to do every game," said first-year BC coach Jenna Real. "That's the goal."

The benefactor of Burlington Central's ball pressure defense was 5-foot-10 freshman Alison Colby, who scored 18 of her game-high 21 points in the first half as the Rockets forced Elgin into 34 first-half turnovers on their way to a 48-21 lead at the break.

"I love it because it gives everyone an opportunity to score," said Colby of BC's pressure defense. "I was a bit nervous at the start but as we got playing it was all good."

"Alison has come in as a freshman and proved she's ready for the varsity level," said Real. "Her fundamentals are beyond that of a freshman ballplayer and we need her presence in the post."

The big early lead allowed Real to substitute frequently and get every player on her team some quality minutes. Seniors Sarah Nelson and Jessica Laird scored 17 and 14 points respectively for the Rockets, who made 14 of 25 shots in the first quarter and 22 of 44 in the first half, many of them coming easily in transition after the taller Rockets would swat away Elgin passes. In addition to her 21 points, Colby had 7 steals, while Laird and senior Catherine Kaynish had 4 each.

"We want to emphasize ball pressure and we're looking to add a lot of pressure on the ball this year," Real said. "And out height will be a real strength for us. We can add that to our speed and that gives us a lot of weapons."

Despite being down big at halftime, Elgin never quit playing hard, winning the second half 26-24. The 47 points the Maroons scored is a step in the right direction as well, considering they only scored more than that in one game last season.

"In my three years that's our best opener," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales. "(Burlington) had their top eight kids back and they were ready for the intensity to start the game. It wasn't so much their pressure as their physicalness. That was something we had difficulty with.

"Considering they pressed for 31 minutes, I thought we did a better job of handling it as the game went on. We looked more like a basketball team tonight. We came out and played hard, we just couldn't handle the physical pressure they put on us. But if this is our worst game, we'll win some games this year."

Senior Briana Hamilton led the Maroons with 13 points and sophomore Maggie Powers added 12. Sophomore Jessica Ramirez had 8 points for Elgin, including going 6-for-6 at the free throw line.