Bolingbrook 43, Hinsdale Central 27

To her Bolingbrook teachers Ariel Massengale is a high school freshman.

To Hinsdale Central girls basketball coach Steve Gross, Massengale looked "like an NBA player" on Thursday night.

"Bolingbrook's a very talented team, and Massengale is the best player on the floor," Gross said. "She's a terrific player. They're very good."

Massengale poured in a game-high 23 points to lead the Raiders to a 43-27 victory at the Class 4A Neuqua Valley sectional final.

"She's really good. We tried to stop her," Red Devils senior center Molly Kinsella said. "We tried to help. She kept going to the basket. She's good. She's going to be really good."

Hinsdale Central (32-2) had a size advantage with the 6-foot-2 Kinsella inside, but Bolingbrook (26-3) used its superior speed to great effect.

"We knew that they couldn't stay with us," Massengale said. "We wanted to dribble and get to the basket. We used our strength against theirs."

Offensively, Hinsdale Central couldn't get anything going. The Bolingbrook defense frustrated the Red Devils into 10-of-38 shooting, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

"I couldn't finish any shots, couldn't make a layup. We couldn't handle the pressure," said Kinsella, who fouled out with 3:36 to play.

"We talked about being strong with the ball. We knew they were going to be up in our face. We practiced that. They're definitely a really good defensive team. I think we could've handled it if we'd set out minds to it, but we weren't ready."

Bolingbrook had a big advantage at the free-throw line, sinking 20 of 26, with Massengale making 9 of 10. The Red Devils made just 6 of 10, a differential that left Gross steaming. He got a technical foul with 2:30 left in the game for pointing out the discrepancy to the referees.

Gross didn't let up afterward.

"They're a good defensive team, but it's unfortunate it wasn't much of a basketball game," Gross said. "It was a wrestling match. …

"We missed easy shots and close shots because you're getting shoved all over the place. So you've got to take your time, ball fake, ball fake, and if you don't establish that in the first couple of minutes of the game, you're not going to get the calls anyway, so it's our fault for not establishing that."

Sophomore point guard Toni Kokenis led the Red Devils with 10 points.

Bolingbrook advances to play Fenwick in Monday's NIU supersectional.