Bolingbrook wears down Red Devils for sectional crown

Toni Kokenis has earned special attention this season, and she got plenty of it from Bolingbrook on Thursday night.

Despite being doubled-teamed almost every time she touched the ball, and often when she didn't, Hinsdale Central's point guard scored 17 points and added 6 assists. Still, it wasn't enough to defeat Bolingbrook, which won the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley sectional championship 53-42 in Aurora.

The Raiders' game plan for Kokenis was simple.

"Try to stay in front of her," Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith said. "It was a tough job.

"We tried to make her work a little bit for everything, tire her down, but she's a kid who came out to play hard."

But the Raiders' strategy forced Hinsdale Central to make a big halftime adjustment.

"We let somebody else bring up the ball," Red Devils coach Morgan Kasperek said. "Toni was dying in the first half, so we had Maggie (Brennan) or Madison (Whitley) bring up the ball. We tried to move Adabelle (Ekechukwu) to the middle because (Morgan Tuck) was guarding her, so we were trying to get her in foul trouble. She had 2 in the first half."

Tuck, a 6-foot-2 freshman, stayed out of second-half foul trouble and bedeviled Hinsdale Central, totaling 21 points on a variety of low-post moves with a 3-pointer thrown in for good measure. She also was 6 of 6 at the free-throw line.

"Katie Delaney played as hard as she could," Kasperek said of the Red Devil assigned to defend Tuck. "Those turnaround scoops, or I don't even know what they were. Those were great shots. Those were great college shots. That's something for a freshman to be able to do that. I think Katie Delaney worked hard, but I mean, what can you do?"

"Morgan had an off day," Smith said with a straight face. "Usually she gets a little bit more. She's a special kid too."

Tuck got help from sophomore guard Ariel Massengale, who scored 22 points and made 8 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter as Bolingbrook (22-4) pulled away.

The Red Devils (31-3) got out to an 8-2 start, but Bolingbrook stormed back to take a 24-19 lead at halftime and never trailed again, responding with a big play anytime Hinsdale Central tried to come back.

"Our girls fought hard," Kasperek said. "They were ready to play. That was the biggest concern, that maybe we'd just get scared. I don't they were scared. We missed some shots that we really should have put in.

"Bolingbrook's a great team. They're athletic, and they capitalized when we made mistakes, and that's what great teams do. I think they're going to have a great run through the state."