St. Charles North’s lead slips away vs. New Trier

It was a tough pill to swallow for St. Charles North coach Mike Tomczak and the North Stars.

Leading by as many 14 points in the first half and 7 after three quarters, North succumbed to a valiant New Trier rally Wednesday night at Dundee-Crown’s 40th annual Komaromy Classic.

The Trevians pulled out a 47-45 win in quarterfinal action. New Trier (9-4) advances to play Stevenson in a semifinal game Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The North Stars will take on Huntley in consolation bracket play at 3:30 p.m.

"We ran out of gas in the fourth quarter," said Tomczak. "New Trier is a physical athletic team who really attacked us in the second half. Their defense and rebounding were key. Huntley will be a tough test tomorrow.

"We haven't had many close games so this game and tournament is good for us."

Propelled by a pair of 3-pointers from Katrina Stack and 6-of-10 shooting from the field, the North Stars (12-2) jumped out to a 15-4 lead after 8 minutes.

St. Charles North, with a 3-pointer by Riley Barber at the buzzer, led 36-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

Paced by 11 points from Sela Klein including a pair of 3s, New Trier took its first lead of the game at 44-43 on a layup by Kate Saccaro with 1:33 left.

Klein, with 18 points in the second half, paced the Trevians with 26 points which included 5 treys.

"We came out of the lockerroom with energy," said Klein. "We knew we could win this game and win this tournament. We are looking forward to playing a great Stevenson team in the semifinals.“

Reese Leahy added 9 points with 12 rebounds for the Trevians, who played without starter Erin Floyd (concussion).

"It was a total team effort," said New Trier coach Teri Rodgers. "Everybody contributed and we are showing growth defensively. We were playing on our heels in the first half. We didn't guard the 3-pointer well in the first half and that was a coaching mistake. We made the adjustment.“

Stack, with three 3-pointers, led the North Stars with 13 points while Laney Stark, who twisted her ankle with 3:40 left in the game, scored 9 points with 4 assists. Stark came back in the game with 1:42 remaining.

Reagan Sipla added 9 points and 7 rebounds for the North Stars.