Bartlett fights off adversity, Schaumburg
When it comes to the postseason, there’s really nothing wrong with having to fight through a little adversity as you move through the tournament trail.
Just ask the Bartlett girls basketball team.
With senior scoring leader Haley Videckis having an off night, then sustaining a blood-gushing cut on her forehead just before the end of the first half, the top-ranked Hawks had to dig deep to move to the next step on the Road to Redbird.
They did just that. Videckis returned with her head heavily bandaged and senior Kristin Conniff and the rest of the Hawks stepped up to the challenge, downing Schaumburg 58-40 in the championship game of the Class 4A Bartlett regional Thursday night. It’s Bartlett’s third straight regional title.
Bartlett (28-1) will take on West Chicago (16-12) in the 6 p.m. sectional semifinal Monday at Hoffman Estates. Geneva meets Wheaton Warrenville South in the second semi and the winners return next Thursday for the right to advance to the Feb. 27 Elgin supersectional. Bartlett beat West Chicago 77-49 on Dec. 17.
The Hawks’ win Thursday night wasn’t a given until late in the third quarter after they finally went on one of their patented lead-stretching runs. In fact, Schaumburg (15-14) trailed just 25-17 at halftime but had some optimism after playing a tough defensive first half. And with Videckis’ return to the game in question, the Saxons’ chances of an upset were better than most teams who trail Bartlett by 8 points at halftime.
But Videckis returned to a loud ovation from the Bartlett crowd and after the Indiana recruit scored only 2 points on free throws in the first half and was 0-for-7 shooting, she got her first field goal on a putback 13 seconds into the third quarter to give the Hawks their first 10-point lead of the game.
“There was no way I was going to the hospital until we were cutting down the nets,” said Videckis, who acknowledged she’d probably end up needing stitches for the wound. “There was definitely a lot of tension on the court before that moment but you just have to fight through it.”
The Saxons, who lost to Bartlett 71-35 on Dec. 21 at Schaumburg, hung tough and trailed just 29-25 after a Jada Blackwell basket with 6:01 left in the third but that’s when Conniff heated up and the Hawks went on a 16-6 run to end the third quarter with a 45-31 lead, enough of an advantage for Bartlett coach Denise Sarna to rest Videckis the remainder of the game. Conniff hit back-to-back 3-pointers, a 2-pointer and then another 3 in less than four minutes, scoring 11 of the Hawks’ points during the run.
“It was good for everyone to have to step it up,” said Conniff, who finished with a game-high 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. “Haley will pick me up and I know I’ll do that for her. I knew I had to do that tonight. It’s our senior year and you have to do that.”
Senior point guard Janessa Baker, back in full-speed form from her ankle injury, played a steady floor game and added 10 points with 5 rebounds and 4 steals for the Hawks, who had only 10 turnovers in the game. Videckis finished with 9 points and senior Lisa Palmer added 5 points and 8 rebounds.
“Haley is one tough kid,” said Sarna of Videckis. “For her to come back and play like she did, it lifted our team up. And Kristin showed the way. This was good for us. I’m proud of the kids. They gutted it out and weathered the storm. The kids know their jobs and they did their jobs today.”
Junior Amanda Kelly led Schaumburg with 19 points and the freshman Blackwell had 7. Senior Alyssa Satlak had 6 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out.
“My girls played their hearts out,” said Schaumburg coach Ashley Berggren, who lauded the senior leadership of Jenna Gerber, Saklak, Aubrey Lopshire, Samantha Mellert and Kelly Skorczewski as the key to the Saxons’ winning season.
“We’ll always compete tooth and nail until the last second. They proved tonight they can play with anybody. Foul trouble really hurt us tonight and (Bartlett) has a ton of weapons. We knew (Videckis’) teammates would step up.”