Saints see lead slip away
The St. Charles East girls basketball team had bottled up Oswego sophomore Samiya Wright all evening.
Until the last six-plus minutes of their game Tuesday night in St. Charles, that is.
Wright hit back-to-back pull-up jumpers in the paint to break the final two ties of the night and lead the Panthers to a come-from-behind 44-40 victory.
Both teams stand at 11-7 after the Panthers' nonconference victory.
"(Wright) has the capability of doing those kinds of things," Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said after the guard scored 10 of her team-tying 12 points in the final 6:07.
The Saints had been in seeming command behind the inspired play of sophomore standouts Lexi Baltes and Jaime Rust.
The former ran the Saints' offense with precision and providing her classmate ample opportunities to score, either in transition or in their half-court sets.
St. Charles East did not commit a turnover in the opening quarter, and the Panthers' 10-9 lead was quickly shredded by Rust and Baltes in the second.
Rust scored 7 consecutive points for St. Charles East to deadlock the game twice, and Baltes added back-to-back field goals late to give the Saints a 24-23 lead at the intermission.
"(My scoring) was from good assists from my teammates," Rust said.
After the teams traded field goals to start the third quarter, Rust went on another tear, ending a personal 7-0 run with her second 3-pointer of the game.
The Saints' 34-25 lead at this juncture -- with Rust accumulating half the team total with her 17-point outburst -- was protected by Oswego suffering through a 2 of 11 collective shooting effort in the third quarter.
But there were cracks in the Saints' cushion.
"We just couldn't get a rebound (during the third quarter)," St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra said.
The Saints' 36-27 lead entering the final quarter was methodically reduced by Oswego in the first four minutes.
Amanda Washington and Katie Ziemnik, who combined for 22 points for Oswego, concluded a 9-0 run to start the quarter with an inside field goal and 3-pointer, respectively.
Wright then hit the first of her critical jumpers from the paint to give Oswego its first lead since the opening half, only to see the Saints' Stephanie Roan break free for a driving layup off an out-of-bounds play.
Wright then gave Oswego the lead for good with another 10-footer, and free throws salted the Panthers' victory.
"I thought we were getting a little tentative (on offense)," Drumtra said. "(The Oswego players) stepped up and made their shots when they counted."
Kara Schnier had 8 points and 9 rebounds for St. Charles East, and Baltes added 5 points and 5 assists.