Girls basketball: Taylor Seaton, Faith Feuerbach, Interstate 8 all-stars topple Little 10

SHABBONA – Sycamore coach Adam Wickness said he knew what to expect when facing Kaneland’s Taylor Seaton. And he was glad to see those things help his team for a change instead of hurting them.

Seaton had a strong second half for the Interstate 8 All-Stars, finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals, and helped them knock off the Little 10 All-Stars, 70-34, in the Leland Lions Club Little 10 & Interstate 8 All-Star Shootout on Saturday at Indian Creek.

“She was awesome,” Wickness said. “She got to the hole really quickly. I think she did a great job on the offensive glass. I thought she cut well without the basketball and all three of those things we had down in the scouting report when we played Kaneland. I was not surprised at all to see them.”

Seaton scored 10 in the second half as I8 turned a 35-30 game with 6:17 left in the third quarter into a blowout, closing the game on a 35-4 run.

“I thought we played well in the first half,” said Serena coach Jim Jobst, coach of the Little 10. “I think we got tired in the second half and they got hot. They attacked well, shot the 3 well. But this is all about fun and I think the girls enjoyed it.”

Earlville’s Elizabeth Browder scored in the paint with 6:17 left, making the game 35-30 after the I8 led by as much as 10 in the first half. The Little 10 led 8-3 early after a putback by Newark’s Kjersten Friestad with 3:59 left.

“It’s kind of hard not really knowing everyone but it was fun,” Friestad said. “It was fun to do this as a last game. I had fun.”

Wickness said at halftime he told the team to focus on their defense, and he said seeing the players respond was great.

“That’s what you want to see,” Wickness said. “All those kids are out there, competing and then when you see them all buy in, ‘Yeah, we’ve got to lockdown,’ and they go out and do it. That’s a lot of fun to watch.”

Sycamore’s Faith Feuerbach led the way for I8 with 25 points, nine rebounds and four steals. She also drained four 3-pointers after winning the Class 3A 3-point competition this year.

Feuerbach said she liked being teammates with her rivals of the last four years. Only seniors were eligible for the game.

“Obviously, it’s a big honor and it’s really exciting,” said Feuerbach, the Daily Chronicle Girls Basketball Player of the Year. “I like all the girls in our conference, so it was really nice being able to play with them. It’s a lot better playing with them.”

Kellie Snyder of Newark had nine points and 11 rebounds to lead the Little 10 team. Baker had no points and six rebounds for L10.

“It was exciting getting ready to play with the best in our area,” said Baker, the Times Player of the Year. “Playing against these guys all year long for the last four years. It was fun getting ready to play with these guys for a change.”

The I8 team committed six turnovers, and two were on steals by Hinckley-Big Rock’s Morgan King. Newarks’ Lindsay Hatteburg drained a couple 3s in the first half and finished with six points, second most on L10.

For the I8 team, Sandwich’s Molly Roberts had six points, two steals and six rebounds. Ottawa’s Brooke Waddell drained a pair of 3s and finished with six points. Sycamore’s Ella Shipley finished with five points and five rebounds.

Kaneland’s McKenzie Schueler finished with eight points.

“It was fun to get to know the girls not from Sycamore a little bit better,” Wickness said. “Great group of kids. It was just a lot of fun working with them. Got to exchange some war stories from the past couple years. Had a lot of laughs and talked a little bit about what we wanted to do today.”