Rams stop Panthers
While Glenbard North is still searching for its identity, Glenbard East has already identified a few go-to players.
And it was Rams leaders like Jackie Foreman, Jamie Klepetka and Kelsey Taylor who were the difference in Glenbard East's 46-40 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday night in the 12th annual Rachel Bach Memorial Tournament in Lombard.
Foreman, a key player on last season's squad, led all scorers with 17 points and added 5 rebounds for the Rams (2-1). Thirteen of her points came in the second half after Glenbard East had struggled through a 4-point second quarter to lead just 19-16 at the break.
"At the beginning we stood around too much," Foreman said. "We knew we had to stay in motion and fight through screens. We moved around better in the second half and we got things going."
Even so, the Panthers (0-4) kept things tight thanks in large part to the inside presence of forward Megan Ney and center Nicolette Rini. Ney had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with 10 points and 2 blocked shots. Rini, meanwhile, added 5 points and 9 boards, including 7 rebounds on the offensive end.
A layup by Ney pulled the Panthers to within 39-36 with 2:52 left to play and it was still a 3-point hole at 42-39 following a pair of free throws by Brianna DiGioia with 1:38 left to play. But Foreman put a stop to Glenbard North's comeback bid with a layup straight through the middle of the lane with 1:08 left to play to put the hosts on top 44-40.
"I saw an opening and went for it," said Foreman, who split a pair of foul shots in the waning seconds along with Klepetka to help seal the victory.
"It wasn't the cleanest game you've ever seen, but we did a nice job when we needed to," Rams coach Nicole Miller said.
For Panthers coach Mark Glenn it was the fourth straight tight defeat to open the season.
"This team is still trying to find its identity," Glenn said. "I just told them that they need to have faith in one another and be confident out there. Glenbard East right now has confidence when they're playing us. For years they hadn't had that. But we need a win or two because right now we're lacking that confidence."
The Panthers trailed 15-9 after one quarter but then held the Rams scoreless for the first 6:59 of the second quarter. But Klepetka ended the scoring drought with a bank shot and then added a buzzer-beating putback to close out the half with Glenbard East on top 19-16. Glenbard North had taken a 16-15 lead on back-to-back buckets from Lauren Verner.
"Glenbard North's always our rival so it's nice to beat them," said Klepetka, who finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds and joined Taylor and Foreman to give the Rams three players in double figures.