Glenbard East denies Batavia's comeback
Batavia had no answer for Glenbard East senior forward Michaela Stranski Wednesday at the Oswego Holiday Classic, which was a good thing for the Rams because they had the same problem stopping Bulldogs freshman guard Liza Fruendt.
It was Stranski's 29 points that proved to be the difference in the Rams' 59-51 victory, including a stretch of 10 straight in the fourth quarter after Batavia had rallied all the way back from 14 points down to take the lead.
“Ultimately we couldn't stop (43) enough,” Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. “She got the ball down low and we couldn't stop it. She's a clutch player and she made plays in that run.”
Stranski, coming off a 32-point game Monday, did everything right Wednesday except at the free-throw line where she uncharacteristically hit 5 of 14.
“It kind of got rocky because I don't normally miss a lot of those free throws,” Stranski said. “It kind of threw me off a little bit but I tried to not let it.”
Glenbard East (2-10) will play in the fifth-place game at 3 p.m. Saturday while Batavia (3-11) will go for seventh place at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Both teams will learn their opponents after pool play concludes Thursday.
The Rams dominated early, scoring the first 7 points on their way to their biggest lead of the game, 18-4. After Sarah Moylan scored Glenbard East's first two baskets and Maggie Angst hit the next two, Stranski came alive with 7 straight points.
By halftime Stranski had 12 points and the Rams led 26-18. The 5-foot-11 forward is coming on strong after being sidelined the first six games this year.
“It's really nice to have her back and find a groove with our entire team,” Glenbard East coach Nicole Miller said.
After missing her first five shots, Fruendt got hot in the second half. The first of her four second-half 3-pointers tied the game at 29 in the third quarter.
“I just needed to settle down, bend my knees more and I knew I could hit them,” Fruendt said. “I finally stepped up and they went in.”
Fruendt's third 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter gave the Bulldogs a 38-37 lead, their first of the game. Angst quickly answered for Glenbard East, then Mariah Zwart's jumper put Batavia up for the final time, 40-39.
Angst's basket gave the Rams the lead for good, and after two free throws from Lauren Pusinelli it was all Stranski as she rattled off 10 straight Glenbard East points.
A Fruendt 3, two free throws by Syctha and Fruendt's one-handed runner brought the Bulldogs within 51-47. That was as close as they got as the Rams added Batavia to Willowbrook as its two wins.
“It's a really big pick me up,” Stranski said. “Today on the bus, everyone was laughing. Once we hit the basketball court it is all serious, but until then we are having fun with each other and we're trying to encourage each other so we can stay positive.”
Angst also finished in double figures with 13 points while Fruendt earned praise from Miller with her career-high 18 points, 14 in the second half.
“She's a very good player, very athletic, and she was just popping some 3s and we were having a real hard time stopping her,” Miller said.
Zwart, the 10th player in for Batavia, scored a career-high 9 points and helped the Bulldogs overcome foul trouble with their other posts. Batavia also learned Monday it will be without point guard Sami Villarreal (torn right ACL) for the rest of the year.
“I thought she (Zwart) did an excellent job,” DeBruycker said. “She gave us a lift off the bench just to keep us in the game.”