Girls Basketball: Alyssa Hughes, St. Charles North pick up the pace, pull away from St. Charles East

ST. CHARLES – Clinging to a 13-12 lead after one quarter, St. Charles North’s girls basketball team continued to pick up the pace.

It paid off.

Led by senior guard Alyssa Hughes’ game-high 21 points, the North Stars outscored St. Charles East 40-23 in the middle two quarters and pulled away for a 67-48 DuKane Conference win Dec. 16 at St. Charles North.

Using a pressing, trapping defense, the North Stars (8-3, 3-1) forced 31 turnovers.

“We felt if we increased the pace of play, we would increase the number of possessions we were going to get,” North Stars coach Mike Tomczak said. “We felt we have some high-end offensive players, so the more possessions we got, the better off we’d be.”

Hughes scored 13 first-half points and connected on a pair of 3-pointers during the North Stars’ 21-11 third-quarter surge.

“I have great support from my coaching staff and teammates,” Hughes said. “They were telling me to keep shooting.”

“Alyssa was fantastic,” Tomczak said. “The moment was not too big for her.”

After shooting only 4 of 18 from 3-point range in the first half, the North Stars shot 50% (6 of 12) from beyond the arc in the second half.

“We liked the shots we were getting in the first half, but they weren’t falling,” Tomczak said. “Our halftime talk was more about keeping the pressure on and getting our shots. In the third and fourth quarters, they started falling.”

Reagan Sipla finished with 14 points, while Katrina Stack and Laney Stark added 12 points apiece for the North Stars.

Stack also contributed six rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots, while Stark had six steals and five rebounds.

“I thought Katrina Stack’s second half was outstanding,” Tomczak said.

Senior guard Julia Larson had four points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and several hustle plays.

“Julia played the best game of her life,” Tomczak said. “She was a monster on defense and on the offensive glass.”

Sophomore Corinne Reed led the Saints (5-5, 1-3) with 12 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals while Alexis DiOrio added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Saints.

“It has been a great matchup with them the past few years,” said Hughes, whose team was swept by the Saints a year ago. “I think we came out with a lot of energy, which helped lead to transition. We played great basketball all-around.”

https://basketball.dailyherald.com/sports/20221216/st-charles-north-pulls-away-from-saints/