Bartlett opens season strong
Last season, the Bartlett girls basketball team did not celebrate a win until December 6.
On Tuesday night, the Hawks changed that story knocking out a 61-57 home opening win over Glenbard West.
But it wouldn't be easy.
Knotted at 16-16 after the first quarter, the two teams battled it out early in the second before Bartlett scored 6 unanswered points to go up 28-23 following back-to-back forced turnovers off a full-court press.
Rachael Anello started the run connecting from behind the arc to put Bartlett back on top 25-23.
Sophomore forward Jacki Gulczynski, who finished the game with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 big blocks, scored 10 points in the second quarter while blocking 2 shots to help the Hawks to a 30-26 halftime lead.
"I felt good out there, but I couldn't have been successful without my team," said Gulczynski. "Our main goal was to come out, execute the fundamentals and play our game. I think we did that."
Playing their game would prove to be crucial as the Hilltoppers refused to let up.
Bartlett had no early solution for stopping junior guard Abbey White, who scored 14 first-half points for Glenbard West to keep it within striking distance.
Kathryn Lux added 7 points including a pair of 3-pointers and 9 rebounds for the Hilltoppers.
"We were hoping to pull away, but Glenbard West kept coming back hitting big shot after big shot," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna.
The only trouble the Hilltoppers had early was foul trouble.
"We had a lot of silly fouls early which put us behind the eight ball," said Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland. "Still, we competed well. I thought we did a nice job rebounding and we had some clutch shooting. Bartlett is a nice team, and they did a nice job."
White continued to provide offense, and junior Cassie Goggin came off the bench to add 6 third-quarter points on a pair of 3-pointers to bring the Hilltoppers within two at 44-42 entering the fourth quarter.
With 5:26 left to play, Glenbard West led 50-48, but Bartlett answered with a 10-0 run including a timely 3-pointer from Ashley Santos (12 points, 2 steals) to go up 58-50 and hang on for the win.
White led all scorers with 26 points. Teammate Abbie Hastings came up big late scoring 10 points, and Cayla Herbst added 3 points and 7 rebounds.
Freshman Haley Videckis had a stellar debut scoring 6 points while pulling down 10 boards for the Hawks, including 6 rebounds in the fourth quarter. Nicole Beck (5 points, 2 rebounds, steal) and Nicolette Gutzwiller (5 points, 2 rebounds) each added timely contributions.
"I saw a lot of unselfish play which was great," said Sarna. "Our depth allowed us to keep pressure on them, and I don't think we let them relax. That first win took us a while last year so it was nice to get that off early."