Bostick well prepared for West Aurora
Waubonsie Valley's Rachel Bostick prepared for Thursday's game by taking a nap, showering and eating a turkey sandwich prepared by her dad.
Maybe she should do that all the time.
The 6-foot-1 junior center couldn't miss in the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley regional final. Bostick made her first 8 shots before missing her final one in scoring 16 points to lead the third-seeded host to a 66-54 girls basketball victory over No. 5 seed West Aurora.
Perhaps Bostick's big performance sprung from her after-school preparation.
"Maybe that's what it was," she said with a big smile.
"Whatever works," said Warriors coach Kris Kalivas, whose club will meet Bolingbrook in the Neuqua Valley sectional semifinals at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday.
Waubonsie Valley (26-2) jumped ahead 12-3 behind Bostick in the paint. She scored 12 of her points in the first quarter, which ended with her team holding a 20-12 lead.
Bostick had 14 points in the first half, powering the home team to a 41-28 advantage.
Her dominance surprised all involved. She was not a big factor in Waubonsie Valley's 63-51 win versus West Aurora (19-9) on Nov. 24.
"I didn't think I'd have as many chances as I did, but luckily my players found me when they did so I got the points," said Bostick, who also collected 10 rebounds.
"I was very proud of how she worked down low and how we were able to get her the basketball," Kalivas said. "She crashed the boards nicely and got some real nice offensive putbacks."
In hockey terms Bostick was plus 16 points during the time she was on the court.
West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl said Bostick's defender was mistakenly fronting her. The coach corrected that at halftime.
"Once we figured it out and settled it, by that time it was a little late," Siljendahl said.
Waubonsie Valley led by as much as 43-28 on Bostick's bucket to start the second half.
But West Aurora fought back. The Blackhawks pulled within 58-51 on Kiara Towles' 2 free throws with 2:13 left. That's as close as they came though as the Warriors scored the next 6 points on free throws.
Brittany Upshaw scored 13 off the bench and Danielle Brown added 11 for the winners.
Kyra Watson's 21 points and 12 rebounds paced West Aurora. Towles finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.