Glenbard South doesn't sweat the numbers
No matter how you slice and dice the numbers, the math defies logic.
The Glenbard South girls basketball team suited up just seven Tuesday for its Metro Suburban Blue showdown with host Riverside-Brookfield, which had almost twice as many players at its disposal.
Yet the Raiders shot almost twice as well from the field as the Bulldogs. And they scored more than twice as many field goals despite having to deal with a 2-3 zone defense most of the game. Plus they outrebounded Riverside-Brookfield 27-18 and forced 15 turnovers.
Want more?
The Raiders put three players in double-figure scoring: junior Maggie Bair scored 13 points, and Ally Daca and Mady Carli had 12 apiece. Riverside-Brookfield had none.
The result was a resounding 44-22 Raiders victory to improve Glenbard South to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the MSC Blue.
"We prepare a lot in practice for being tired in games because we obviously have a lot less players than other teams," said Bair, who added 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. "The coaches tell us to take it slow on offense so we can take a breather instead of taking timeouts and stuff and then play fast on defense. We kind of pace ourselves throughout the game."
Glenbard South coach Morgan Kasperek carries eight players on the roster - freshman Lauren Cohen was unavailable - but all eight appear to be as solid as granite.
"All of my kids can come in and contribute, and that's one thing we wanted to do this year is just make sure everyone can play basketball," Kasperek said. "Every time we step on the gym floor at practice it's a competition. There is a different level of expectation when you have four seniors. I'm pleased with my eight players."
Here's some more math.
Glenbard South raced out to a 19-11 halftime lead while Riverside-Brookfield shot 4 for 19, missed all five 3-point attempts and committed 8 turnovers.
But the Raiders put the game away coming out of halftime, putting together a 14-0 run, started by a jumper in the lane by Bair, followed by back-to-back 3s by Carli, the second coming from NBA distance beyond the key.
Two free throws and a layup by senior Grace Buckley with less than three minutes to go and suddenly the score was 33-11.
Glenbard South never looked back.
"We know they play aggressive man-to-man defense, and they have a height advantage, and we knew it would be difficult to score in the half-court, and it was," Bulldogs coach Dallas Till said. "They are a good team."
The respect was mutual.
"They are a tough team. They are very aggressive and came out to win," said Carli, who hit a second tandem of back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.