Young stops Bartlett's run

NORMAL Bartlett met its match here Friday night.

And then some.

Undefeated Whitney Young, the No. 2 ranked team in the country, had its way with Bartlett from start to finish, beating the Hawks 67-43 in the Class 4A girls basketball state semifinals at Redbird Arena.

Young (33-0) will attempt to become the first undefeated state champion in any class since 2005 when it takes on Edwardsville (34-1) in the state championship game at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Bartlett (31-2) plays Loyola (26-8) for third place at 6:30 p.m.

"We lost to a good team today," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna, who guided the Hawks to second place here in 2005. "We needed to play a great game and hit on all cylinders and we didn't."

Young's athleticism had as much to do with that as anything. The Dolphins, who are seeking their second state title and first since 2008, held Bartlett to 4 field goals in the first half and outrebounded the Hawks 27-15 in running out to a 30-18 lead at the break.

"I thought we did a pretty good job defensively in the first half and made them work," Sarna said, "but on offense we were pretty stagnant and we missed a lot of layups and free throws."

The Hawks, in fact, missed 10 shots in the paint in the first half. Young outscored Bartlett 42-16 in the paint for the game.

"Their pressure in the first half took us out of our game," said Bartlett senior Haley Videckis, who finished with 10 points. "For me, the looks I was getting weren't good looks."

With Kentucky-bound point guard Janee Thompson leading the way, the Dolphins put the game away for good in the third quarter. Thompson penetrated at will as Young outscored Bartlett 23-12 in the third, including 18-2 in the paint.

Thompson finished the game with 18 points and a state tournament record 13 assists.

"That's what we expect her to do," said Young coach Corry Irvin, the Larkin graduate who can win her 300th career game in her 11th season at Young if the Dolphins win the state title. "She's a senior and she's our captain and she did a really good job today."

While Young's speed appeared to make Bartlett, a quick team, a bit slow, Irvin said it was the Dolphins' defense that dictated the tempo of the game.

"A lot of people think we like to run but we like to play defense and we only run when we play defense," she said.

Sarna also knew one of the big keys to the game would be rebounding and Young dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hawks 50-28. Young had 21 offensive boards to Bartlett's 6.

"It was a tough battle on the boards," said Bartlett senior Lisa Palmer, who had 6 points and 7 rebounds. "We worked hard but they were big and strong."

Junior Linnae Harper added 16 points and 6 steals for Young, which shot 31 of 70 for the game. Virginia Tech recruit Alexis Lloyd added 14 points and 7 rebounds as well as holding Indiana signee Videckis to just 3 of 11 shooting as Bartlett finished 14-for-45 from the floor.

"Our rebounding was inconsistent and our rotation was affected because of their size," Sarna said. "We had a tough time matching up with (Thompson). She has a lot of weapons and she helps make their team go.

"They're as good as we thought. We could have played better but they took us out of our running game and early on we weren't setting good screens. It's a lesson to teach us the importance of execution."

Senior Kristin Conniff added 10 points and senior Katie Gutzwiller had 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Hawks, who now have to regroup to play the third-place game.

"Our whole team has worked hard all season to get here," said Videckis, who today will join seven other Bartlett seniors in their last game as Hawks. "Everyone loses. It will be a new day and we're too good of a team to not come out (today) and display the talents we have."