Girls Basketball: Bartlett builds big lead, cruises past Naperville Central
Before Naperville Central could say “home court advantage,” the Redhawks trailed visiting Bartlett 17-0 toward the end of the first quarter at the 2011 Tip Off Tournament on Tuesday. Bartlett truly looked like a team that had everything as the Hawks went on to top the Redhawks 62-42.
In answer to the question, “Is your team that good?” Bartlett forward Haley Videckis replied, “Our team is better than this.”
Central didn’t score its first points until Jill D’Amico hit a layup with seven second remaining in the first quarter, and even though the Redhawks would play Bartlett almost evenly for the rest of the game, the damage was already done.
“They’re fast, and that sums up their whole game,” said Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum. “They’ve got skill too. I like their shooting, their size, their defense, but that speed is really a complement to everything else they have.”
In that first quarter, all five Bartlett starters scored, and the points came from everywhere — inside, outside and in transition as the Hawks forced nine Naperville Central turnovers.
“We have some awesome talent and tonight we really executed, swinging the ball to the open player” said Videckis. “They can’t single one player out because we have so many weapons. And we’re unselfish. For us, making an assist is as good as making a basket.”
“Our defense and rebounding are the keys to our game,” said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. “Tonight we played a good team defensive game and we did a good job on the boards. The rebounding got our running game going. It’s nice to have a bunch of seniors. They know what to do. Experience showed tonight.”
Videckis and Lisa Palmer led the Hawks with 14 points each. Kristin Conniff and Janessa Baker scored nine each and Katie Gutzwiller added eight.
Nussbaum was not happy with his team letting the Hawks get off to such a fast start, but pointed out that in the second half the Redhawks were outscored by only 29-28.
“That may have been the best half of basketball our team has played, so far this season,” said Nussbaum. “I liked our team in the second half.”
Nussbaum said the Redhawks (2-2) just have to get back in the gym and “fix it.’
“We have to ask ourselves ‘are we playing fast in practice?’” Nussbaum said. “Because you can’t just come out and turn on your speed. We have to play better defensively. We can’t just let them go around us. We’re a better basketball team than the way we played tonight.”
D’Amico led the Redhawks with 12 points, while center Emma Donahue reached a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Victoria Trowbridge added nine points and Jamie Cuny scored eight, including a pair of three-pointers.
In the second game at Naperville Central, Benet defeated North Chicago 63-25. Nicole Valentine led the Redwings with 18 points.
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