Bartlett holds off Naperville Central

Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum didn't know quite what to make of Friday's 72-61 loss to Bartlett at the Naperville Central/Benet Tip-Off Tournament in Lisle.

"Part of me says they're a really good team, and we played respectable, but we're not after respectable," Nussbaum said.

"We're here to win."

So were the Hawks, and they remained undefeated by simply outplaying the Redhawks, taking a lead early, building it 11 points and then holding on when Naperville Central narrowed the margin to 2 midway through the third period before pulling away again in the fourth quarter.

"I thought in the first half we missed a lot of shots that we normally make and then started making those in the third," Nussbaum said.

"We've had some really great contributions," Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. "I thought we had some kids come off the bench today that gave us some great defensive efforts, some great rebounding battles inside."

Forwards Lisa Palmer and Taylor Miller-Buliox drew recognition from their coach for their gritty work off the bench while the bulk of the Hawks' scoring came from a familiar trio of 6-footers. Senior Jacki Gulczynski scored a season-high 20 points for Bartlett (4-0), Kristin Conniff added 18, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and Haley Videckis tallied 10 points.

"She works real hard," Sarna said of Gulczynski. "She has a lot of different weapons offensively, so we can use here inside-outside. But what I think helps also is she gets a lot of attention and we have to have the other kids step up. And a lot of the kids on the floor are doing that."

They also did it with some sharp passing, finding the open teammate for easy baskets or drawing fouls.

"We're feeling each other out a little better," Gulczynski said. "It's our fourth game. In the past we've been a little wary about our passing, not knowing who's going where or when."

Senior point guard Emma Ondik led the Redhawks (3-2) with 23 points. Emma Donahue added 13 points and Krissy Many 10.