Bolingbrook hands Maine South 1st loss with big 4th quarter
A long day of basketball came to a close as the best matchup was saved for the last game of the night.
Bolingbrook then saved its best play for the last quarter of the night.
The highly regarded Raiders (18-2) trailed unbeaten Maine South for much of the night at the 34th annual DICK’s/Coach Kipp Hoopfest at Benet Academy, but blitzed the Hawks 21-5 in the fourth quarter to prevail 64-47.
“That’s a heck of a team,” Bolingbrook coach Chris Smith said of Maine South (20-1). “Those kids play hard the entire game. We finally matched their intensity in the second half.”
Trinity Jones, a sophomore transfer from Naperville Central, and DePaul-recruit senior Angelina Smith had relatively quiet first halves for the Raiders before taking over the game down the stretch.
Jones finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds with four baskets in the final quarter. Smith, meanwhile, had just four points in the first half but finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
“We’re still learning to play with each other and once we started communicating better we started taking off,” said Jones. “Angie is like my big sister and it’s so great getting to play with her in her senior season.”
The Hawks led by six after one quarter and held a 34-31 lead at the half, but the Raiders did take a 43-42 lead into the final quarter after Jones grabbed a lob in the final seconds of the quarter, was fouled, and hit both free throws. Bolingbrook also had a spark at the end of the first half as Persais Williams beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer.
The Raiders then picked up their intensity and pressure defense in the final quarter, owned the glass, and pulled away from what was a great game for three-plus quarters.
“It was a good game for three and a half quarters but then we uncharacteristically got rattled,” Hawks coach Jeff Hamann said. “Credit to Bolingbrook. But I love our girls and we’ll learn from this.”
Guard Meegan Fahy led the Hawks with 17 points, 11 of which came in a big first quarter. Ally Pape added 12 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
For the Raiders, Jones, Williams and Smith all scored in double figures and the trio combined for 49 points and 23 rebounds.
“We don’t really care that they’re ranked No. 1,” said Jones. “We know who we are and our community knows how good we are.”
In the first half both teams raced up and down the floor, each going on little streaks before the other team answered.
The Hawks led 17-11 after one quarter behind 11 points from Fahy and twice built leads of 8 points in the second quarter, the last time at 32-24 following a pair of free throws from Pape.
But the Raiders closed out the second quarter on a 7-2 run to trail by just three at the break. Yahaira Bueno had a basket during the late charge along with a steal and an assist, and then came a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Williams, who paced Bolingbrook with 9 points in the first half.
Earlier results Monday included Benet Academy’s 64-32 defeat of Rolling Meadows and Downers Grove North’s 47-35 defeat of Lincoln-Way Central in the Alumni Gym, and Fremd’s 83-48 win over Hinsdale Central, and a 55-46 victory by Whitney Young over Montini in action in the main gym.