Pipal, Glenbard South blow out Sycamore
All the difficult things are working for the Glenbard South girls basketball team. Now if they can only master the easy shots this could be a special season.
The host Raiders utilized aggressive defense and dominant board work on Wednesday to defeat visiting Sycamore 47-28 in a Western Sun Conference contest.
"I'm pleased with how we ran our offense," said Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda, "but not so pleased with the execution when we got open shots. It was almost like there was a cover on our basket."
The Raiders (8-2, 2-1) jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter as all five starters got into the scoring column.
The closest the Spartans (1-7, 0-3) got from that point on was a brief time in the second period when they narrowed the margin to 7.
The Raiders led 24-15 at halftime and kept a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
"We played good defense and we boxed out really well," Glenbard South's Danielle Pipal said. "But we have to finish when we get easy shots in the lane."
Pipal, who swung between guard and forward and even played a little in the post, had a strong all-around night, scoring a game-high 14 points and adding 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.
"Danielle has been a rock for us, and I'm really pleased with how she's reacted in her senior year," Fonda said. "She wants the ball in her hands."
The Raiders dominated the boards by a 35-19 margin, grabbing 12 off the offensive glass.
"We're coming off a tough 2-point loss to Geneva and our rebounding hurt us," Fonda said. "So we worked on that the past week, boxing out and not letting the opponent getting the offensive rebound. And it showed tonight. I'm really happy about that."
The Raiders depth was also impressive as Lauren Podgorski, Devon Diiorio, Jasmine Simpson and Alyssa Yasak gave them strong minutes off the bench.
Diiorio was especially effective. She blocked 3 shots, took down 3 rebounds and scored a pair of baskets. Podgorski also had 4 points and came up with 3 steals.
"We have good depth and quickness and we match up with most teams at guard and in the post," Fonda said.
"We just have to get better at putting the ball in the basket."
Sycamore coach Ryan Picolotti praised the Raiders but was not happy with his team's offense or rebounding.
"Twenty-eight points at the varsity level isn't going to win too many games," Picolotti said. "When you make so few shots you lose a little intensity when you come down on defense. Sometimes we got a little out of sync. Glenbard South did a nice job of attacking the offensive boards, and you can't give a team two, three or four opportunities at the basket."
Anna Buzzard led the Spartans with 10 points.