Bartlett wins NC/Benet title again
Bartlett girls basketball coach Denise Sarna knows her team is going to see a variety of different looks as the season goes on. It’s how her squad responds to each opponent that Sarna is most concerned with.
After Friday’s 58-43 win over Benet in the third round of the Naperville Central/Benet Tip-Off Tournament, Sarna is encouraged by what she’s seen so far.
And with good reason. Not only did Bartlett’s win in Lisle Friday secure the Hawks their second straight Tip-Off Tournament championship, it also put them at 5-0 for the season.
“A tournament like this gives you a chance to see all different types of teams,” Sarna said. “Naperville Central has one of the biggest teams around, and everyone keeps talking about our speed but Benet is very fast and has good shooters.”
Unfortunately for the Redwings, those shooters didn’t have their eye on Friday. Benet (3-2) made just 16 of 68 shots on the day, including going only 5-for-30 from 3-point range.
“We struggled offensively today,” said Benet coach Peter Paul. “The effort was there. We worked very hard. We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”
Seniors Haley Videckis and Kristin Conniff led Bartlett with 20 and 14 points respectively as the Hawks hit 16 of 39 from the field and made 20 of 29 from the free-throw line.
“Benet’s been the quickest team we’ve played so far so it was a challenge for us to rebound the long shots and keep with them up and down the floor,” said Videckis, who also had 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
As they have all season, the Hawks started fast, jumping out to a 7-2 lead as senior Nicole Gutzwiller hit a 3-pointer, senior Janessa Baker scored off a turnover and Gutzwiller hit again all with the first 2 minutes of the game.
Bartlett led 28-20 at halftime but more importantly, the Hawks had Benet in foul trouble as Redwings’ junior Christen Prasse picked up her third with 1:03 left in the half.
Nevertheless, Benet battled back in the third quarter and used two straight 3-pointers from senior Sidney Prasse to climb within 4, 31-27, with 5:19 left in the third.
But Bartlett went on an 11-0 run that closed out the third and went into the fourth, taking a 42-27 lead after 2 free throws from Videckis with 6:14 to play in the game. Senior Madeline Eilers hit one of her three 3-pointers at the 6:09 mark to end a Benet scoring drought that last 7 minutes, 10 seconds. Bartlett’s biggest lead was 17 and the Redwings never got closer than 9 in the final 6:14 of the game.
“When our shots weren’t falling we started looking inside and we sank our free throws,” Videckis said. “We know what we need to work on and I feel like it’s all going to come down to rebounding and making good passes.”
Baker and Gutzwiller each finished with 8 points for the Hawks, who did commit 26 turnovers. They also got a lift off the bench from seniors Ashley Johnson and Nicole Gobbo.
“As good as our defense was against Naperville Central, this one showed us some things we need to work on,” said Sarna, whose team finishes the tournament against Metea Valley at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
“Our kids that came off the bench today did a nice job, especially (Johnson and Gobbo). They made some nice contributions. They’re seniors now and they know they have to step up.”
Sidney Prasse led Benet with 10 points, while Eilers added 9 and Nicole Valentine 8 points and 7 rebounds as the Redwings did outrebound Bartlett 40-37.
“Our shot selection wasn’t the best today,” said Paul. “We got Sid going there but then that little stretch where they moved ahead did it. Give credit to Bartlett. That’s a very good team.”