Size advantage helps Glenbard South to league win
The Glenbard South girls basketball roster might not have as many players as most teams, but the Raiders do have a pair of Carlis.
In Thursday's key Metro Suburban Conference West Division defeat of visiting Riverside-Brookfield, sisters Payton Carli and Mady Carli powered the Raiders to a 46-35 victory. Payton, a senior, had a game-high 18 points and added 7 rebounds, while Mady, a sophomore, connected on a trio of 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs entered the game 3-0 in conference play and notched their seventh win the previous night over Romeoville in tourney action at Oak Lawn. But Glenbard South, with just nine players on the roster, prevailed to tie the Bulldogs atop the league standings at 3-1.
"We're comfortable with nine," Payton Carli said. "Our coach has worked us hard to get into shape so when we're on the floor we're not getting winded, even though we are. Actually, we get a little winded but not to the point where we can't play anymore."
Payton Carli hit a 3 at the end of the first quarter for a 15-5 lead, and her driving basket at the buzzer of the third quarter gave the home team a 32-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
"Payton is just so smart. She's a smart basketball player," Raiders coach Morgan Kasperek said, "It's just irreplaceable senior leadership. Our team goes as Payton Carli goes, and I couldn't be happier that that's the case. And I like my Carli sisters. They work so well together. They're tough and they fight for everything."
The Raiders also took advantage of a height advantage over the Bulldogs as 6-foot sophomore Ally Daca had 11 points to go along with 7 rebounds and a blocked shot, while fellow sophomore Ashley Dodge recorded a game-high 11 rebounds. Six-foot-1 freshman Maggie Bair added 7 rebounds for the winners.
Payton Carli was happy with the way her taller teammates played on both ends of the floor.
"We had our bigs posting up really hard trying to get the ball in the paint, and we had our wings making clutch 3-pointers," she said. "We all just passed the ball really well and saw the open player.
"We did use our height as an advantage today, and our bigs worked really hard to box them out and they just fought for the ball. Then we don't have to work harder on defense and get more tired, with the limited players we have."
For the Bulldogs, Jessica JnoBaptiste had 14 points and 2 steals, but she tallied just 2 points in the second half after the visitors had trailed just 22-18 at the half.
"It's a nice conference win," said Kasperek, whose team is 5-4 overall heading into the Wheaton North tournament on Monday. "It's always fun to play R-B. They're a great team."