Markovic 'a force' in Glenbard South triumph

If Nevena Markovic can establish herself as a basketball player like she established herself in the low post Monday afternoon, Glenbard South will have a fun season.

Markovic scored 18 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in the Raiders' 62-48 victory over Downers Grove North in the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic's first round.

"She's a force, she just doesn't know it yet," Raiders coach Julie Fonda said of her 6-foot-2 center. "She's a sophomore, so she'll get there. She's such a fundamentally sound basketball player, and if she would just asserted herself she'd be phenomenal. I hope this is kind of a turning point for her. That's really cool to see."

Alyssa Yasak backed up Markovic with 14 points off the bench.

"Yasak's just in the right place at the right time, and she is just a bulldog," Fonda said. "She's off the bench, but a lot of times she's starting."

The Raiders (7-3) built a 10-point lead in the third quarter but saw it nearly completely dissipate when Downers North went on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to 1 on a Missy Blazej 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the period.

Glenbard South responded with an 8-0 run to finish the quarter on a Jasmine Simpson bucket at the buzzer. Then the started the fourth quarter by scoring the first 5 points before Marissa Koszewski scored for the Trojans.

"Having Megan (Pipal) in foul trouble never helps us, but Lauren Podgorski did a really nice job today stepping up and doing some great things," Fonda said. "I think I'm going to credit our 13-0 run to our press and the intensity they brought to it. They did a really nice job."

The Raiders advance to play Waubonsie Valley at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"It was one of our best offensive games of the season," Fonda said. "Collectively, we just played a really, really nice game tonight. I'm really impressed."