Weekend articles

Batavia 53, Sycamore 38:
After losing to Sycamore by one point in early January, Batavia coach Chad Hillman knew what he wanted from his players in the rematch.

"Last time, we blew a 15-point lead in the third quarter, and we lost by a point because we didn't rebound," Hillman said. "You could tell every possession we looked to get a body on somebody."

The Bulldogs executed and beat Sycamore on Friday, raising their record to 7-17 overall and 4-5 in the Suburban Prairie North Conference.

Batavia started off quickly, riding Meredith Novak and Donisha Barry's shooting to build a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But the Bulldogs' hot shooting suddenly froze in the second, as their only field goal came on a layup by Novak. Sycamore took advantage, and trailed 25-21 at halftime.

As the second half progressed, the Spartans began showing fatigue. Batavia's intense defense forced them to launch wild shots. By the end of the third, the Bulldogs had expanded their lead to 13 points.

Sycamore, however, started the final eight minutes on a 7-1 run, led by Sarah Hathaway's six points. With 5:20 left and Batavia up 39-33, Hillman called a timeout to regroup.

"We wanted to calm it down," Hillman said. "We were pushing and throwing up a bunch of shots. We wanted to get the game under control."

Hillman's strategy worked. On the ensuing possession, Novak took a long jumper and missed. She got her own rebound and missed another shot. Again, Novak grabbed another rebound, and made a layup to increase the lead to eight.

Immediately, Barry stole the ball and raced down the court. She scored another layup and Sycamore never threatened again.

Barry was pleased with her team's performance. "I think we did real good at rebounding and hopefully we can continue that the rest of the season."

She finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Laura Thilgen added 11 points and 7 boards. Nicole Ohlhaber led Sycamore with 12 points.

Adam Bartolo

Chicago Christian 77, Aurora Christian 51:
In their final regular season game, the Eagles (13-12, 3-6) fell to Private School League opponent Chicago Christian.

Aurora Christian was already thin on depth, with senior Kaylee Gordon out sick and Kristen Rasich limited due to a broken nose.

The physical Knights quickly capitalized and took a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
"We got out of the block slow," Eagles coach Dan Stone said. "They're a very talented and underrated team."

The Knights built their lead through Ryan Hedrick's inside scoring and rebounding and the explosive play of Emily Ottenhoff. In the first half alone, she knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 20 points. She led all scorers with 22 points.

Still, Aurora Christian kept fighting. It trailed 58-35 late in the third when it quietly went on a 10-0 run, creeping their way back into the game. But Jess Mandac swished a wide open 3-point shot, increasing the Knights' lead to 61-45, and putting the score out of reach.

Tara Thomalla led Aurora Christian with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Janeen Corbin added 11 points.

Despite the loss, Stone remains proud of what his young team has already accomplished this season.

"This is a brand new basketball team," Stone said. "We have two starting sophomores and a freshman who had never played high school ball. Corbin's a junior and didn't play varsity last year. So we're gaining a lot of experience. Our spirits are going to be good."

As they prepare to host their regional this week, the players believe they can accomplish a lot.
We want to win regionals." Rasich said. "I really believe the table has been set for us."

Echoed senior co-captain Kristen Renninger, "We're confident enough where we can play hard. We're playing to win."

The No. 7 seed Eagles begin regional play Monday at home against No. 13 Mooseheart, with the winner playing No. 3 seed Marengo in the semifinals Tuesday.

- Adam Bartolo