Schaumburg 73, Bartlett 50
Schaumburg girls basketball coach Bill Murmann held senior stars Gabrielle Blackwell and Kylie Castans out of the Saxons' regular-season finale Saturday against St. Viator due to injuries.
The rest appeared to do wonders for the pair, as they helped lead the Saxons to a Class 4A Bartlett Regional semifinal win over the host Hawks on Tuesday 73-50.
Castans, suffering from plantar fasciitis in her foot, scored 14 points and hauled down a game-high 17 rebounds. Blackwell, recovering from a hamstring injury, added 17 points in the win.
"She was moving a little bit tender, but she's fine," Murmann said of Blackwell. "She was explosive in spurts, which was nice to see. It was a big test for Kylie. She hasn't played in three days. Her injury is getting better. They both contributed very well."
Having Blackwell and Castans back after a one-game layoff was nice for Schaumburg (26-5), but fellow 1,000-point scorer Drewann Pancratz was doing just fine herself, especially early. She scored 9 of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter, helping the Saxons jump out to an 18-2 lead to start.
"Drew had a great offensive game," Murmann said. "She was in a tremendous flow."
Castans struggled from the field, hitting only 4-of-16 shots, but the team's leading scorer found a way to contribute with her 17 rebounds. That was part of a 59-32 rebounding edge held by the Saxons.
"I took a couple shots and I was off, so I figured I should crash the boards," Castans said. "Drew was hitting tonight, which was nice."
The Saxons' offensive juggernaut caught the young Hawks (10-19) off guard, particularly early. After not scoring for the first 5:20 of the game, the closest Bartlett ever came to Schaumburg was 25-14 on a 3-point play from Sam Salinas.
"We knew we had our hands full from the beginning," Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. "We identified their offensive weapons. Unfortunately for us, they have a lot of them and they were on. We let Drewann get some good looks. Their physical size underneath was tough for us."
Freshman center Jacki Gulczynski led the Hawks with 23 points and 7 rebounds, giving Sarna hope for the future. Bartlett had only one senior, guard Katie Koster, on the team this season.
"I remember watching this Schaumburg team when they were young," Sarna said. "They took their lumps and they built themselves up to be a good team, and certainly that's what we hope to do."
Schaumburg will be back at Bartlett on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. to play for the regional championship against Geneva, a 69-60 winner over Batavia in Tuesday's other semifinal game.
"We beat (Bartlett) on their home floor," Murmann said. "It was supposed to be a neutral site, but it wasn't. We handled it pretty well. It was a good game and we're looking forward to moving on."