Unselfish works. Burlington Central’s Samantha Origel heats up for senior night win. ‘It was really special.’

Burlington Central has an unselfish team. It suits senior guard Samantha Origel just fine.

Origel knows when she’s feeling it and gets open, somebody on her team will find her.

“We all share the ball with each other,” she said. “We’ve been playing together since we were in sixth grade, so we know each other pretty well.”

After a sluggish first half on senior night Wednesday against Jacobs, Origel helped kick-start the Rockets in the second half.

She drilled a pair of 3-pointers to start the third quarter, scoring 13 of her 14 points. That helped the Rockets turn a six-point halftime lead into a 67-40 Fox Valley Conference win.

“Our first half was really not that good,” Origel said. “That’s not the way we play. The second half was very important.

“Third quarter, we all told each other that we had to play together and it was very important because of senior night. We just had to go.”

Origel said when she gets into rhythm, the confidence starts to flow.

Burlington Central coach Collin Kalamatas confirmed that feeling then infiltrates other parts of her game as well.

“You see the confidence grow when she knocks down a couple outside shots,” Kalamatas said. “When she gets that going, her defensive intensity steps up, her rebounding. You saw her get steals at the top of the press.

“All of that was a factor of her knocking some shots down and getting some confidence. She’s a big part of what we do.”

That shows when Origel is asked about her role on the team.

“I’m an all-around player,” Origel said. “I try to get steals. I try to help my team rebounding, try to shoot my threes and try to drive whenever I’m open.”

The last time the two teams played, Burlington Central (17-9, 9-5) jumped out to a 28-2 lead on Jacobs (3-23, 1-13). That was not the case Wednesday.

The Golden Eagles fell behind 6-0 but then put together a 16-1 burst to take a surprising 16-7 lead.

“We watched the first game (Tuesday) and worked on some areas,” Jacobs coach Jonny Reibel said. “For us to come out and take what we looked at (Tuesday), it shows growth for sure.

“It shows that despite the season we’re having, we’re still willing to learn. We’re still willing to compete. We’re in this together.”

A 17-2 run in the second quarter, however, stabilized things for the Rockets and flipped the script back in their direction.

Page Erickson and Emma Payton each scored six points during that run as the Rockets led 31-25 at halftime.

“First half, senior night, it’s not a distraction because it’s a wonderful thing, but our rotations were different,” Kalamatas said. “Once we got back to playing the way we’re capable of, you saw the girls come alive. That was awesome.”

Arianna Corrado led Jacobs with 15 points and Camryn Cook added 12. Erickson led all scorers with 17 points for Burlington Central.

The night was a celebration of the Rockets’ six seniors.

Erickson, Paige Greenhagel, Haley Lindquist, Emma Menke, Origel and Holly Thompson have a long bond on the court together and enjoy big roles on the team.

“It’s extremely significant because it means more to them,” Kalamatas said. “It’s not just getting on the floor. It’s an opportunity to make an impact for the program and kind of leave their stamp.”

Origel and her teammates soaked it all in.

“It was really special, definitely a night we’ll never forget,” Origel said. “It was really memorable for all of us.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.