South Elgin 65, Larkin 52

South Elgin girls basketball coach Tim Prendergast has been talking to his team about the importance of getting off to a quick start.

After jumping on top of Larkin with an 18-3 run Friday night, the Storm showed that they are ready to comply, finishing the Upstate Eight Conference matchup with a 65-52 win.

Early on, it was the tandem of Becca Smith and Cortney Kumerow that got the South Elgin offense going. Smith found Kumerow open inside early and with 10 first quarter points of her own, the duo combined for 14 of 18 points in the opening eight minutes.

"Becca is a true point guard," said Prendergast. "She gets everything started. I don't like to take her out of the game much. Luckily, she has a lot of energy."

When all was said and done, Smith racked up 17 points, half a dozen steals and 5 assists.

"I felt really good about how the team played tonight," said Smith. "Our plan was to start strong offensively and keep our defense solid. We played good team ball."

Kumerow was dominant inside, scoring 15 points, pulling down 5 rebounds and blocking a pair of shots. Counterpart Dijon Smith contributed with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 steals and 6 points.

"Cortney has been our leader," said Prendergast. "We look to her for a lot of things, and she doesn't disappoint."

Despite a slow start, Larkin (1-7, 0-2) continued to pressure the Storm (6-3, 1-1) gaining momentum offensively with each quarter. The Royals' strongest effort came in the fourth when they outscored South Elgin 22-9, cutting a 30-point deficit to 13 points before the conclusion.

"All I can ask for is improvement with each game, and I got that tonight," said Larkin coach Amy Silverman. "We had a job to do defensively tonight, and the girls did a much better job all around."

Jessica Harris had a huge game for Larkin, leading all scorers with 23 points.

"I was proud of our overall play," said Harris. "I tried to stay out of the post because of their height. Once we were able to push the ball up the court more, I focused on getting shots off."

Harris scored 6 points in an early 8-0 run and scored 6 unanswered later in the third quarter.

"Jessica got hot," said Silverman. "The team showed a lot of signs of improvement. I think the kids started to believe in what we've been talking about, and this could be a turning point for us."

The South Elgin arsenal was simply too much to match.

Both Alyssa Krause and Jatun McPherson added 8 points for the Storm.

"We have a lot of weapons, and can score from anywhere on the floor," said Predergast. "But give credit to Larkin. They didn't quit."

Starters Leah Rybakowski (7 points) and Nadiyah Spencer combined for 13 points, and the Royals got 14 points from their bench.

"Every kid on this team did a great job," said Silverman. "They played really hard."