Bartlett makes easy work of Glenbard West

Bartlett's girls basketball team isn't the top seed in the Class 4A Hoffman Estates sectional complex for nothing.

The No. 1 Hawks (27-1) wasted little time Tuesday night, jumping on 16th-seeded Glenbard West's upset hopes while taking a 33-12 halftime advantage en route to a 63-25 victory in the regional semifinals in Bartlett.

Indiana-bound Haley Videckis helped make sure that the Hilltoppers (11-16) weren't going to stay in the game for long, as she poured in 14 of her game-high 19 points in the first half.

Videckis gave the Hawks another momentum boost right before halftime, as her buzzer-beating 3-pointer off an inbound pass from Katie Gutzwiller extended the lead to 21 points.

"We practice a lot on short-duration period situations," said Videckis. "I think we're really well-prepared for those types of situations. It is a great feeling to hit one of those shots."

After outscoring the Hilltoppers 15-2 in the third quarter to build a 48-14 lead, all that was left for Hawks coach Denise Sarna to do was find playing time for her reserves and make sure the starters rest up for Thursday's regional championship clash with Schaumburg (15-13), which rallied past St. Charles East, 51-45, in Tuesday's second semifinal contest.

"I thought our defense played well today," said Sarna, whose team forced 28 turnovers. "They have some nice players but I thought we had a good game plan overall.

"You need to have the defense carry you through in this tournament. I thought we did a good job tonight."

Kristin Conniff added 12 points, while Gutzwiller had 8 points and 7 rebounds, and Lisa Palmer and Janessa Baker chipped in with 7 points apiece as the Hawks won their fifth consecutive game.

"We came out with a lot of energy," said Videckis. "It has been a long season in preparation for tonight and the next couple of weeks, so we're just going to come out hard every game."

After falling behind 2-0 in the first minute on a basket by the Hilltoppers' Ellen Nighbor (6 points), the Hawks went on a 9-0 run that was fueled by Gutzwiller, who finished the opening quarter with 6 points, 5 rebounds and a pair of steals.

"Katie does a lot of the little things," Sarna said of Gutzwiller. "I loved her aggressiveness today on the offensive side, particularly on the rebounding end, and I thought she did a good job defensively as well."

Glenbard West finished its season with a record of 11-17.

"We needed to play our best game, and we needed Bartlett to have an off-night," said Hilltoppers coach Mike Hofland. Neither of those things happened tonight. "They have a tremendous team, they know who their scorers are, and they play with confidence."