Trinity's hot start dooms Bartlett in sectional semifinal
Just like the first time the Bartlett and Trinity girls basketball teams met back in November, the Blazers got off to a fast start and led at halftime.
Unlike that first meeting, Bartlett couldn't complete the comeback as Trinity held on for a 62-54 victory in a Class 4A sectional semifinal at York High School in Elmhurst Tuesday.
Trinity (28-4), which lost the first meeting against Bartlett (28-2) by a final score of 61-50 on Nov. 23, connected on 8 of its first 9 shots to take an early 24-7 lead, and the Blazers led by as many as 18 points with 10 minutes left in the game before Bartlett made a terrific run to make things interesting.
The Hawks fought back with a 25-10 run to pull within 57-54 on Janessa Baker's driving layup with 1:32 to play, and they got the ball back on a turnover with a chance to tie or pull within a point.
However, Bartlett missed its next 2 shot attempts and turned the ball over on another possession. Trinity went on to sink 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:02 to seal the win.
Trinity shot 57.9 percent from the floor (22 of 38) compared to 36.8 percent for Bartlett (21 of 57).
"They needed to have a great game and we needed to shoot poorly, and that really happened," said Bartlett's Wisconsin-bound senior Jacki Gulczynski, who led her team with 18 points and 8 rebounds. "We dug ourselves a hole the first half and we never really got out of it. Hats off to Trinity. They really played a fantastic game."
"Our shooting was really good in the first quarter," said Trinity junior Megan Podkowa, who matched teammate Taricka Linzy's 16 points. "I don't think we've ever shot that good in, I don't know, our whole life. It really made a difference.
"We knew they would make their run, though. We knew they were going to come back just like they did the first time."
Gulczynski led the charge for Bartlett, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the second half, 8 in the fourth quarter. Kristin Conniff sank 2 free throws to get the Hawks within 57-52, and Baker capitalized on a Blazers turnover with her layup to make it 57-54.
The Hawks missed a shot after a timeout and sophomore Taylor Nazon was fouled on the fast-break counterattack and sank 2 free throws 1:02 to play. Bartlett did not score another point.
"It was a nice feeling, but I guess our fight just wasn't good enough," Baker said of the comeback. "Our first quarter was really our downfall."
Bartlett coach Denise Sarna echoed her point guard's assessment.
"We just got off to such a God-awful start and they were hotter than anything," Sarna said. "They were on fire. They shot the ball well tonight.
"But I couldn't be prouder of a group of kids. It looked like everything was over and people could start leaving the gym. But one thing we saw from this team all season long was that they never quit. Tonight was another example of what we've seen all year."