Give up. Quit. Throw in the towel. None of that ever registers to Batavia’s Brooke Carlson.
So, as the Bulldogs headed into halftime Friday night facing a four-point deficit, the senior guard was more determined than ever that her team would win — and would play again next week.
“After the first quarter we were like, ‘We can’t be doing this,’” Carlson said. “We have to pick it up. Definitely at halftime, we flipped the switch. We realized this could be our last game together.
“We didn’t want that. We wanted to play at home one more time. That was in my head, but I have faith in my teammates and what we’re capable of.”
With Carlson in control, Batavia turned it on in the second half and ended up cruising to a 55-36 win over Wheaton Warrenville South in the Class 4A Bartlett Regional championship game.
Carlson scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Bulldogs (27-5), who advanced to play at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Batavia Sectional semifinals against St. Charles East (19-12).
Geneva (22-8) and St. Charles North (27-4) will meet in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal, completing the showdown of Tri-Cities and DuKane Conference teams.
Natalie Warner added 11 points off the bench Friday for the Vikings. Hannah Struebing paced Wheaton Warrenville South (17-16) with 14 points. In the end, however, it was Carlson’s show.
“I feel like we were in our own heads,” said Carlson, who kept the Bulldogs afloat in the first half with 15 points. “We knew we could do it, and we weren’t playing to our capabilities.
“At halftime, it was more firing ourselves up and focusing on defense. That’s what we had to come out and do and we came out and got it done.”
With Batavia down 24-20, Carlson keyed a quick 8-0 run to start the second half and get the Bulldogs back on top. She had a steal and a layup in that spurt.
All eight points also were scored by seniors, and then the Bulldogs led 37-36 after three quarters.
“You could tell, the group of seniors, they weren’t going to let us go down,” Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. “You get it, the human nature of it — they’re trying to take (Carlson) away. Let’s make sure she gets it. Yes, we want her to get a good look, but all of you, just like every other game, have the green light to make your drives and make your shots.
“Once we kind of did that, things started to open up.”
Warner, a junior guard, was one of the players who took advantage. She hit a 3-pointer to give Batavia a 35-32 lead with a minute left in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, Warner then hit a 3-pointer off of a feed from Carlson as the Bulldogs put together an 18-0 quarter to pull away.
“It feels great because I look up to all of my teammates,” Warner said. “Contributing and giving energy to the team is a great feeling.”
Warner also was conscious of the fact that Carlson, who recently became the program’s all-time leading scorer, wanted to keep her career at Batavia going before heading to Colorado State.
“Brooke contributes to the team a great amount,” Warner said. “She has a lot of energy. When they’re double-teaming her, everybody else has to step up and have her energy.
“She makes everyone on the team so much better. She’s the nicest person you’ll ever meet. She works so hard and makes everyone want to work harder, get better and work for each other.”
And now, Carlson gets at least one more chance to put on a show Tuesday for her fans.
“It’s going to be amazing, especially on our home court,” Carlson said. “We have a lot of support from the community and students. I’m really excited for it.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
