Alicia Johnson’s three 3s power DeKalb girls past rival Sycamore

BURLINGTON – Not even two years ago, the Sycamore girls basketball team held DeKalb to 12 points in a game.

What a difference 22 months make.

The DeKalb girls got a 15-point performance from freshman Johnna Patrick, a trio of key 3-pointers from Alicia Johnson and stifling defense throughout for a 52-27 win over the Spartans, snapping a 16-game skid to their rivals in the silver bracket title game at the Mark Einwich Tournament on Saturday.

“It feels great honestly because we were just playing as a team,” Johnson said. “We finally got the win over Sycamore we haven’t had in so long.”

Sycamore (2-2) jumped out to an early 13-6 lead and was up 15-9 with 3:51 left in the second quarter after a layup by Camryn Knox.

That’s when the Barb offense started to heat up. Olivia Schermerhorn drained a 3-pointer, set up by a Sycamore turnover, as part of a 16-0 run stretching into the third quarter, a run ended by one of Patrick’s three 3-pointers on the day.

The teams traded baskets back and forth in the third, with all three of Johnson’s 3s answering Sycamore buckets.

Johnson finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals in the win. The Barbs (3-1) held the Spartans without a field goal for the last 9:57 and scoreless for the final 7:05.

DeKalb forced 23 turnovers in the game, leading to 20 points. Schermerhorn and Patrick had four steals each.

“Defense is our emphasis,” DeKalb coach Bradley Bjelk said. “We believe our defense will lead to our offense. We rep simple defensive things every day. It’s really an emphasis for us. We feel like defense is our foundation and everything builds off of that.”

Sycamore forced seven turnovers in the game, three on steals by freshman Sadie Lang, who finished with 10 points and a game-best eight rebounds. Quinn Carrier led the Spartans with 12 points and also had five rebounds.

Sycamore coach Adam Wickness said the Barbs just played more physical than the Spartans.

“Those girls have been playing hard and aggressively for the past three years,” Wickness said of the Barbs. “They’ve gotten better every year. Brad’s got them moving in the right direction. Coming into the game I told the girls multiple times our No. 1 job was matching physicality and I don’t think we did a very good job of that today.”

Johnson, along with Avery Medina, led the Barbs with four points each in the January 2023 game against Sycamore at the NIU Convocation Center, a 55-12 loss. Medina scored five Saturday to go with a pair of steals.

In the game two seasons ago, the sophomores and freshmen who played are now all juniors and seniors. Brytasia Long had eight rebounds Saturday, Kiki Mitchell had six points, three rebounds and two steals and Ella Russell had four points, a steal and a rebound. All but Long were on the roster in the game two years ago.

“It’s the same players, we’ve just been pushing each other on and on and on,” Johnson said. “We’re making sure we’re putting the work in the gym, pushing each other to work together and have that love for the game that we do.”

And there’s still youth making an impact with Patrick having three rebounds and four steals to go with her game-high 15 points.

Bjelk said there are no egos on the Barbs and the older players have welcomed Patrick, allowing her to thrive in the early going. She was named to the all-tournament team.

“She’s a great on-ball defender,” Bjelk said. “She can bring a lot of pressure. She’s very skilled offensively and had a high IQ as well. And she’s a leader. She talks to the other players, helps them. She’s just been great.”