Second chances help 'Hawks

Naperville Central missed some shots early Saturday night yet got off to a great start against Bartlett.

That's because when the Redhawks (2-0) didn't get their shots to fall, Lisa Lawrence always seemed to be there to clean things up with an offensive rebound and a putback.

The 6-foot-3 senior center tallied Naperville Central's first 8 points of a 54-31 win over the Hawks, with the first three baskets all coming on putbacks. For the night Lawrence finished with a career-high 20 points and 8 rebounds, as well as 3 blocked shots as Naperville Central won a second straight game in Tip-Off tourney action in Naperville.

"We didn't go in saying we were going to get every rebound," said Lawrence, who grabbed 7 boards on the offensive end. "But we knew we were a little taller than them and we looked to take advantage of those opportunities."

Not only did the Redhawks do a strong job on the boards against Bartlett (0-2), but the hosts also showed off their quickness in forcing 31 turnovers. The Hawks gave the ball away 12 times in the first quarter alone, when Naperville Central jumped ahead 12-4. The lead grew to 23-10 at the half with Lawrence single-handedly outscoring Bartlett 13-10 through two quarters.

"Lisa played really, really well," Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. "Most of her points came off boards. It's not like we were running plays for her. She earned all the ones she got."

Bartlett made just 5 of 22 shots in the first half and had 19 turnovers while falling behind by 13 at the break. Aside from Lawrence, the biggest culprit for the Hawks was Naperville Central guard Kelley Hendrick, who had 8 steals to go along with her 6 points.

"She's so quick and she has such great anticipation," Nussbaum said of his junior guard. "She brings everyone else up around her, and it helps that she has a 6-3 insurance policy in the back (in Lawrence)."

The Hawks opened the second half with a 7-2 run to close to within 25-17 thanks to a 3-pointer from Becca Cronin and baskets from Alexa Tovella and Jacki Gulczynski. But the Redhawks countered with a 14-2 blitz to close the quarter and stay in command.

"We had flashes of improvements, but turnovers were not one of them," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna, whose team opened the season with a loss to Sandburg on Friday night. "At times we did a better job of boxing out. But we'd get a stop and then turn it over."

Gulczynski paced the Hawks with 10 points while Tovella added 8 points, 5 boards and 2 steals. Forward Samantha Salinas led Bartlett with 6 rebounds and also had 4 steals.