Take it easy? Not Batavia’s Brooke Carlson. She scores 42 points to top St. Charles North. ‘My team gave me the ball.’

Junior guard Brooke Carlson can see a vast improvement in her game for Batavia.

She’s in her first season as the primary scorer for the Bulldogs. She has emerged as one of the best players in the area. And she has grown accustomed to dominant performances.

But it’s how she goes about putting it together that has evolved the most.

“I feel like I’ve eased more into it,” said Carlson, who would score 13 of Batavia’s first 14 points Tuesday night. “I know when to take the right shot, not ‘the’ shot.

“Getting space for myself, moving it for the team and getting it back has been really good this season.”

The 5-foot-8 Carlson certainly didn’t ease herself into it for the Bulldogs in a 63-59 DuKane Conference victory against host St. Charles North, however.

Her blistering start set the stage for a career-high 42 points. She shot 12 of 18 for Batavia (18-11, 10-4), including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and 13 of 18 from the free-throw line.

Senior guard Alyssa Hughes had a huge game in her own right for St. Charles North (24-6, 11-3), scoring 28 points. Reagan Sipla had 12. Kylee Gehrt added 13 points for Batavia.

Batavia coach Kevin Jensen compared Carlson’s evolution to former Bulldogs great Liza Fruendt, who holds the program’s single-game scoring record with 51 points.

“Liza went through this progression, too,” Jensen said. “(Carlson) didn’t have to force shots. What was there, she took it. When there was an opportunity to drive, she took it. When there was an open three, she took it.

“That’s where she has progressed from each year. She’s been more in control.”

Batavia trailed St. Charles North 28-20 at halftime, but Carlson scored 16 of the points. Carlson scored 10 more points in the third quarter as the Bulldogs took a 44-41 lead.

Carlson then went back into domination mode in the fourth, scoring 16 of Batavia’s 19 points. The Bulldogs never trailed again.

“My team gave me the ball,” Carlson said. “We knew the circumstances we needed and we played really well as a team. It was just a really fun game overall.”

Much like he did during Fruendt’s career, Jensen found himself watching the show at times Tuesday night.

“It helps when your best player goes for 42,” Jensen said. “She’s just an amazing kid. She works so incredibly hard. She’s as strong as can be. She’s as competitive as can be.

“My job at this point is don’t screw it up — put her in spots to make plays.”

Once the North Stars shut off the 3-point shot for Carlson, she went to work getting the ball to the basket, leading to easy layups and trips to the free-throw line.

“She was shooting the ball very well from the outside,” St. Charles North coach Mike Tomczak said of Carlson. “I thought we were closing out a little better in the second half. That doesn’t bother me as much.

“What bothers me is when she’s able to dribble through five players on defense and no on steps up and take the ball out of her hands or at least makes somebody else beat us. You tip your cap. She had a great night.”

For the North Stars, with regionals right around the corner, it was a lesson.

“If this happens a week from now, we’re going home,” Tomczak said. “We’re done. The fact of the matter is we didn’t, and we have a valuable learning experience to prepare us for the tournament. It will make us better.”

Carlson has never played better. But never one to focus on her individual effort, she was happy to finally get over the hump against the North Stars heading into the postseason.

“This is a team that we felt like we could beat, but we always go back and forth with them,” Carlson said. “To get this win going into the playoffs is really big for us with that energy and the confidence we built from it.”

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