No. 1 Bartlett handles Neuqua Valley
It may not be smooth as silk in the eyes of coach Denise Sarna just yet, but it’s looking a little better every game for the Bartlett girls basketball team.
Senior Kristin Conniff came back into the game in the second quarter with foul trouble and lit up the nets for 11 of her 20 points and classmate Haley Videckis made it a 20-20 night for the two Hawks as No. 1 Bartlett downed No. 6 Neuqua Valley 69-56 in an Upstate Eight Valley contest at Bartlett Tuesday.
“I had my teammates to help pick me up and fill my role,” said Conniff, who hit three of her four 3-pointers in the second quarter. “When I came back in I wanted to play smart defense and help my team and not make stupid fouls.”
Bartlett (9-0, 2-0) held a tenuous 18-13 lead after the first quarter, the 5-point advantage coming when Videckis hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in the period. But then Sarna took a chance and put Conniff back in the game with two fouls to start the second quarter.
Good move. All Conniff did was hit a 3-pointer 13 seconds into the period, a 2-pointer 19 seconds later and a 3-pointer after a Janessa Baker hoop and with 6:21 left in the half, the Hawks had a 27-14 lead. The closest the Wildcats (6-1, 1-1) would come the rest of the way would be 8 points late in the third quarter.
Bartlett led 44-32 after three and after Amarah Coleman (9 points) scored to open the fourth, the Hawks went on a 9-0 run to take a 53-34 lead with 5:11 to play.
“We’ve got a lot of offensive weapons,” understated Sarna. “Every kid can contribute and chip in — all five starters and some veteran kids off the bench.”
Senior Lisa Palmer added 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Hawks, while senior Katie Gutzwiller added 8 points. Baker had 5 assists and 3 steals, which helped Bartlett’s transition game shoot 29-for-61 on the night, 26 of 47 through three quarters. The Hawks also turned the ball over just 17 times — 5 in the first half — while harassing Neuqua into 22 turnovers.
“We knew we’d have to take care of the ball and limit our turnovers,” Sarna said. “Neuqua makes it tough because of all the kids they run in and out.”
Shay Robinson and Najee Smith led the Wildcats with 10 points each. Kristen Moore added 8, but senior leader Megan Doody was held to 3 points on 1 of 11 shooting as Neuqua made just 19 of 57 from the floor.
“It’s easy to talk about what you have to stop with them but it’s tough to stop it,” said Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams of Bartlett. “When you play better teams they tend to exploit your weaknesses. It’s the seventh game of the year and it’s not the sectional finals or a conference championship game. As long as we learn from it we’ll be fine.”
After hosting East Aurora Friday, the Hawks will continue defense of their UEC Valley title in a No. 1-2 showdown with Waubonsie Valley in Bartlett on Dec. 13.
“We all have to go hard at practice,” said Conniff. “We know we have tough games coming up.”