Bartlett outlasts pesky Streamwood in second half
The Bartlett girls basketball team took Streamwood's best shot Saturday afternoon and survived.
Junior Jacki Gulczynski scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the second half as the host Hawks held off their District U-46 rival, 65-56, in an Upstate Eight Conference game.
"In the second half we were more patient and we looked more for our high-low game," said Gulczynski, who was limited to just 6 shots in the first half. "We needed to move the ball better."
After falling behind early 8-2, the scrappy Sabres (8-15, 1-6) clawed their way back into the game despite having leading scorer Emma Schmidt and second leading scorer Michelle Tomczak both on the bench for much of the first half in foul trouble. In fact, the Sabres had a 4-point lead in the second quarter before Bartlett (15-8, 5-2) came back to grab a 32-30 advantage at the break.
The Hawks then went on a 7-1 run to start the third quarter, opening up a 39-31 lead after a Nicole Beck free throw with 5:14 left in the period.
From that point, the Sabres never got closer than 6, but they didn't allow Bartlett to put them away either. The Hawks' biggest lead of the second half was 65-54 with 19 seconds to play. The Sabres had cut a 60-51 deficit at the 2:53 mark back to 60-54 with 1:04 to play and had three chances to cut even further into the deficit but they missed two shots and turned the ball over once.
"We were looking to get it to a 3 or 4-point game at that point," said Streamwood coach George Rosner. "Our press was giving (Bartlett) problems at that point but we missed a shot or two and a free throw or two.
Bartlett won the game from the free-throw line, making 24 of 33 for the game while Streamwood was 9 of 14. Gulczynski and Kristin Conniff, who was 9-for-10 from the line in the game, each made two in the final 59 seconds and Beck one.
"This was a game where you just had to keep picking away," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. "It was a very physical competitive game. We didn't do a good job on the boards. We didn't box out and we weren't aggressive. We gave them a lot of extra shots."
The Sabres could have used a few more of those to go in though. They were 22 of 67 from the field; Bartlett was 20 of 50. The Sabres outrebounded the Hawks 43-38.
"I thought we might have a hard time keeping up with them scoring," said Rosner, who added the new Upstate Eight schedule for the next two years does not have Streamwood and Bartlett playing each other (they will be in opposite divisions).
"We were looking for a game in the low 50s. But my girls stayed right with them. The girls never gave up. We had our two leading scorers on the bench and nobody out their heads down. We had three girls in double figures today and one of them was not Emma Schmidt. That shows how far we've come."
Gulczynski and Sarna were quick to give Streamwood its just due, while also being happy to survive and stay mathematically alive in the UEC title race.
"These are the kind of games that show our true potential," Gulczynski said. "Streamwood is a great rebounding team, but this game showed our true character."
"Records don't always say everything," said Sarna, whose team plays at undefeated and Class 4A No. 4 Geneva next Saturday. "(Streamwood) has some nice kids and they play well together."
Conniff added 13 points for Bartlett while Beck and Lisa Palmer had 8 each. Tomczak led the Sabres with 13 points, while senior Melissa Oehlerking added 12 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Jessica Cerda had 10 points, 4 steals and 4 assists. Schmidt had 9 points and 7 rebounds despite the foul trouble and Amanda Patterson added 7 points and 4 assists.