A jump shot clinches it for Bartlett

It wasn't until Samantha Rubright's baseline jump shot hit iron and fell away that Bartlett had its win over Fenton locked up on Wednesday.

In a game that showed how much a young team versus a small team can make for one even girls basketball game, Bartlett won 45-43 over Fenton in Bensenville.

"The bottom line is, we hung on for the win," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. "We're young, but we're making progress."

At various points Bartlett (2-7) built leads of 8, 6 and then 10 points over Fenton (4-6), but the Bison scrapped in coming back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in earning a chance to tie the game as time expired.

"We keep playing. We don't stop," said Fenton senior Mia Sansone. "We're a pretty good shooting team, but our defense is what keeps us in games."

Bartlett led 25-24 after two quarters before the Hawks' full-court defensive pressure helped them grab a 39-31 lead after three quarters. Fenton had 17 turnovers on the night, many due to the Hawks' pressure.

Bartlett freshman Jacki Gulczynski exploited Fenton's 1-3-1 defense with a steady dose of baseline jump shots, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Rubright finished right behind her with 18 points for Fenton, while no other player on either team scored in double digits.

Sansone played a fine first half in scoring all 8 of her points and finished with 5 steals on the night. Freshman Christina Carlson played big minutes for Bartlett, coming in off the bench to pull down 6 rebounds and score 7 points.

"We needed some rebounding, and she did a good job tonight," Sarna said.

A Becca Cronin layup gave Bartlett a 41-31 lead to start the final quarter, but Rubright made it 43-39 with a 3-pointer a few minutes later. A Carlson basket made it 45-39, but a free throw by Fenton's Jayme Biagi and another Rubright 3 made it 45-43 with 36 seconds left.

Defensive pressure from Fenton had Bartlett giving up one of its 14 turnovers on the night, and Fenton had one final look to tie the game.

"We seem to like to play in that mode," said Fenton coach Tim Anderson. "I'd rather be up 10 and learn how to protect it, but that doesn't seem to be us."

"That was the sign of a team that has a lot of first-year varsity players," Sarna said. "We just haven't been in very many close games. But we're getting better."