Bartlett blasts past Glenbard West
The teams' identical records suggested a game that could go either way Tuesday night in Glen Ellyn.
Bartlett, though, and its starting five had other ideas.
With four starters in double figures, led by Haley Videckis' personal-best night, Bartlett was a model of consistency in its 74-55 girls basketball victory over host Glenbard West.
The Hawks (14-9) pieced together 17-point efforts in each of the first three quarters and turned the nonconference game into a rout with 23 more in the fourth quarter. Videckis scored 14 of her 21 points in the first half, and the sophomore had plenty of company after the intermission.
"I think we just had great team play, and everybody was giving it up," Videckis said. "We found the open player. I think the key tonight was running them down the court."
Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland had a very similar opinion.
"They kicked our butts on the boards," Hofland said of Bartlett's 50-31 edge. "They just kept running and beat us time and time again down the court. Those two things (rebounding and breakouts) made a close game into a blowout."
Videckis and junior post Jacki Gulczynski, who finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds, connected on back-to-back 3-point field goals to enable Bartlett to break free from a first-quarter 9-9 tie. But Glenbard West fought back behind the guard play of Abbey White and the inside-outside chemistry of forwards Cayla Herbst and Abigail Hastings.
White, who paced Glenbard West (13-9) with 14 points, had 3-pointers to end the first quarter and begin the second. Herbst nullified the Hawks' rebounding advantage inside with 3 second-quarter blocked shots, while twice feeding Hastings for easy scores.
White gave Glenbard West its final lead midway through the second quarter, only to have Videckis augment her 9-point opening quarter with consecutive field goals in the final minute before the break to give Bartlett a 34-27 lead at halftime.
Bartlett then forced Glenbard West into a 25 percent third-quarter performance from the field; Gulczynski was brilliant in the quarter, scoring 9 points while cleaning the defensive glass. Videckis' quarter-ending field goal gave Bartlett a 51-40 lead after three, and the final two pieces of the Bartlett starting five - point guard Janessa Baker and forward Christina Carlson - squelched any Glenbard West thoughts of a comeback.
Baker ran the team with precision, scoring 10 of her 12 points after halftime; Carlson was a monster in the fourth quarter, totaling 8 of her 14 points while grabbing 6 of her game-high 11 rebounds.
"Coach (Denise Sarna) told me to push the ball up the court," Baker said. "That's essentially my job. They were pressing me, and I was faster than any of them."
Bartlett finished 28 of 69 from the floor; Glenbard West was 22 of 58. Herbst and Hastings became the sixth and seventh players in double figures when they each tallied 11 points.