Burlington Central rolls over Woodstock North

Stifling, relentless and harassing.

All those words would aptly describe Burlington Central's defensive effort in the Rockets' 55-33 Kishwaukee River Conference girls basketball victory over Woodstock North in Woodstock Thursday night.

"We have been a slow starting team all season long so it was nice to start fast and play with the lead," said Central coach Mark Smith. "Our defensive pressure helped us get easy baskets. I liked our intensity and energy to start the game."

Nursing a slim 5-4 lead, the Rockets (10-1, 4-1) seized control of the game by scoring the final 14 points of the first quarter to lead 19-4 after 8 minutes of action.

During the 14-0 run, the Rockets connected on 7-of-8 from the floor for 87 percent and converted 6 turnovers into layup baskets. Freshman guard Elana Wells and sophomore center Kathryn Schmidt each scored 3 baskets for 6 points. Madelyn Menke, off the bench, added a layup basket during Central's pivotal surge.

Central forced 10 Thunder turnovers in the first quarter in leading by 15 after 1 quarter of action.

Leading by 20 at intermission, 29-9, the Rockets put the game away by scoring the first 9 points of the second half to take a 38-9 advantage with 4:47 left in the third quarter.

Wells scored 5 points including a 3-pointer and Zoey Kollhoff scored 4 points on a pair of baskets during the 9-0 run.

Woodstock North's first points of the second half came on a 3-pointer by Collette Jones with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter to make the score 38-12.

Central's biggest lead of the game was 31, 55-24, after a conventional 3-pointer by junior center Mackenzie West.

"I really liked the way we came out in the third quarter even though we had a big lead," said Smith. "We got a nice contribution from everybody."

Wells paced the Rockets with 13 points and 3 assists while West, the only upperclassman on the team, added 9 points and 8 rebounds.

"As the only upperclassman on the team and with all the sophomores and freshmen we have on the team, I have to be a leader on the team," said West. "I try to play hard all the time and give us a spark. We have tremendous chemistry on the team and the young kids always play hard and they have a lot of talent."

Menke and Schmidt added 8 points apiece for the winners.

Woodstock North, which was hampered by 27 turnovers, connected on 6-of-12 from 3-point range for 50 percent.

Amaya Saldana, who made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, led the Thunder with 12 points while Jones, with a pair of 3s, added 7 points.