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Strong second half powers Dundee-Crown

Dundee-Crown exhibited its dangerous potential in two second-half stretches which totaled just 4½ minutes on Friday night at Lou Ramirez Gymnasium in Richmond.

The first 10-point run in the third quarter put the Chargers ahead to stay in their opening game of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic girls basketball tournament. The second 10-point run in the fourth quarter sent them on their way to a 56-44 victory over Woodstock North.

"Now we just need to work on consistency throughout," said D-C junior Kayla Lawrence after she had 5 assists and held Woodstock North's Ashley Jones to 3 of her game-high 18 points in the second half.

"When our intensity is up on defense we get more excited and we play smarter on offense," said D-C senior Creighton Fed, who had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. "We just need to work on being consistent with doing that. We can be doing that for a full game if we play to our strengths."

That's something the Chargers (4-7) didn't do enough of in the first half as they couldn't hold a 19-12 lead. Jones' pullup jumper seven seconds before halftime gave her 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and put the Thunder (1-9) ahead 24-23.

"I felt like we weren't playing smart in the first half," D-C coach Sarah Miller said. "They were outplaying us in the first half and we were playing a little out of control. In the second half we had a little more leadership and we were looking for girls to step up.

"We did a better job of boxing out and playing under control. I felt us playing smarter in the second half gave us more control over possessions defensively and offensively."

Lawrence played a big part in that after halftime as the only shot Jones made from the field in 5 attempts was a running one-hander in traffic.

"I tried to keep her from getting the ball and didn't let her get so many opportunities," Lawrence said. "I don't think we recognized quickly enough that she was the one we needed to keep an eye on. Then we were trying to force her the wrong way. We figured out she was a lefty and we thought at halftime we needed someone to step up defensively."

Fed had only 3 points at halftime but her 3-pointer started a 10-0 run that put D-C up 37-27. Woodstock North answered to get within 39-35 with 7:48 to play.

But D-C erupted for 10 points in just 1:42 as Fed had 3 assists and a layup, Lauren Lococo (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) scored 6 points and Jesania Laboy (6 points, 10 rebounds) hit a baseline jumper.

"We were playing better defense, denying the ball and boxing out," Fed said.

The Chargers shot 15-for-23 in the second half to finish at 45.5 percent (25-for-55) and had a 37-24 rebound advantage. Woodstock North shot 32 percent (17-for-53) in its ninth straight loss.

D-C will get two shots at more consistent efforts Saturday at Richmond-Burton when it faces Marengo at 9 a.m. and Wauconda at 1 p.m.

"We need to come out like that all the time," Lawrence said. "The second half showed more of where we are as a team than the first half."

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