Bartlett clinhes UEC Valley crown
Sometimes it’s just enough to come a little closer.
For Neuqua Valley on Saturday night, it was enough just to stay close to Bartlett.
The Hawks clinched the first Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division girls basketball championship with a crisp 59-44 triumph in Naperville.
“We’re going to judge it compared to what we did the first time through,” said Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams, whose team lost by 30 points to Bartlett on Jan. 15. “We know that they were pumped up to win because they win the conference outright today if they win, and they did.”
Bartlett (23-1, 10-0) showed early in the game how motivated it was. Neuqua Valley led 4-3 less than two minutes in when the Hawks went on a 17-0 run that the Wildcats’ Megan Doody ended with a left-handed runner at the buzzer.
Neuqua (17-5, 7-3) never got within single digits again.
“We just came out with high energy,” Bartlett guard Janessa Baker said. “We knew this game meant a lot. Us winning makes us conference champs.
“It’s great. The last time I think we were conference champs was when (Lindsay) Schrader was here, and the last time Schrader was there they went to state (in 2005), so just another step in the road.”
Shooting percentage told a good deal of the story. Bartlett made 21 of 49 shots; Neuqua just 16 of 65.
“You can’t play great teams like this and miss easy shots,” Williams said. “We don’t have the luxury of getting second and third rebounds on the offensive end because they’re just a big team. They went on that 17-0 run, and we came back, we got within 10. Our goal was to kind of keep it somewhere within 10. We played them better this time than we did first time, and it’s going to take some time. They’re seniors and we’re freshmen and sophomores. That’s just the way it is.”
Jacki Gulczynski led Bartlett with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, and Haley Videckis added 20 points and 7 rebounds.
“The kids have really worked hard,” Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. “This is a great group of kids. This team together, this group of kids have really been through a lot. A lot of highs and lows, and I’m really proud of how they’ve gutted things out, how hard they’ve worked, how they’ve kept their heads up, mentally positive all the time, and they’re rewarded with a conference championship.
“I just hope for the best with this team.”
Alexa Wilde led Neuqua Valley with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
“Alexa Wilde has been playing out of her mind,” Williams said. “Here’s a kid that’s a soccer scholarship athlete (to Baylor University), who has the poise, who understands the intensity, has been in these types of situations in other arenas and has handled it quite well. I think her calmness did settle us down a little bit.”
Bartlett didn’t want to settle down. It was having fun celebrating its new title.
“It was huge,” Baker said. “Who doesn’t want to be conference champs?”