Sabres, Cary-Grove ready for rematch

Updated: March 23, 2011 2:10PM

Streamwood's and Cary-Grove's girls basketball teams are right back at square one.

A year after they played for a regional title, the teams are in the Class 4A regional finals against each other again Thursday night at Dundee-Crown, and neither really had to work a full game Tuesday to get there.

The second-seeded Sabres began dominating play 2 1/2 minutes into their semifinal with the host Chargers, and came away with a 54-36 victory behind 14 points from guard Amanda Patterson and 10 from 6-foot-3 center Michelle Tomczak.

Top-seeded Cary-Grove, meanwhile, struggled from the field in the first half, but had little problem registering a 50-19 triumph over Larkin.

"We're back: Same teams, same game, different place," said Sabres coach George Rosner, after his squad earned a shot at its first sectional berth since 1988.

Streawmwood, now 22-5, has the second most wins in school history. When the Sabres and Cary-Grove met for the regional title at Cary-Grove a year ago, the Trojans advanced with four-point overtime victory.

Streamwood's better height and long arms made it impossible for the Chargers to move the ball, leading to 17 first-half D-C turnovers. And the Sabres took advantage, assuming a 36-12 halftime lead.

"I think we thought we could use the zone press and try to force turnovers," Rosner said. "We did a good job of that.

"I tell the girls if you get a tip, get a steal, we've got to get a basket. We're not going to be content to control the ball or hold the ball. We're going to the basket."

Jessica Cerda scored all seven of her points in the first quarter and Emma Schmidt had five of her seven points then when the Sabres' press led to easy layups.

Dundee-Crown (9-18) had lost 55-43 early in the season, but the 18-point final deficit was as close as the Chargers could get in the second half. Streamwood emptied the bench to start the fourth quarter.

"The difference was in the second game we just made too many turnovers in the first half," said D-C coach Michelle Russell, whose team was led by Allison Sanders' eight points and Klaudia Taber's seven.

Russell thought the Chargers' average 3-inch height edge per player made a difference in the trapping pressure.

"We don't see a lot of that," she said. "It (the height) is something that's difficult for us to duplicate in practice."

Cary-Grove (25-3) missed almost as many layups in the first half (9) as Larkin had shots from the field for the half (10).

"My problem with our play was it was one pass and shoot, one pass and shoot," said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert.

The Trojans led only 26-9 at halftime after making 9 of 37 shots from the field.

"We maintained our discipline on defense, which I was pleased about," Larkin coach Alphonso Lott said after his team finished its season with a 4-23 record. "They're a very physical team and I was impressed with the way our girls stayed in there and battled. They fought the whole game."

Larkin's trouble was the same that it had been much of the year -- handling the basketball. The Trojans forced 43 turnovers in the game, including 25 in the first half.

In the third quarter, Cary-Grove made four of its first five layups and continued to apply pressure, turning the game into a complete blowout.

The Royals got 11 total points from freshman guard Torie Patterson.

"She's been showing what she's capable of in the future, playing very well over the last two weeks," Lott said. "Next year she could really be one of the better players around if she develops that ability to take the ball to the basket."

Larkin also had four points and three shot blocks from senior center Kayla Pflueger

The Trojans rested their starters for most of the second half. Claire Jakubicek scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds to lead Cary-Grove, which outrebounded Larkin 38-28. Megan Straumann had nine points and reserve Joslyn Nicholson scored seven points.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.