Willowbrook blows out Proviso East
With Proviso East shot blockers lurking around the basket, Willowbrook coach Terry Harrell looked to players like guard Molly Krawczykowski to attack in Saturday’s home girls basketball game against the Pirates.
Krawczykowski was happy to oblige. Her strong drives coupled with the Warriors’ overall unselfish play on the court and an opportunistic defense added up to an impressive 79-51 West Suburban Gold victory over Proviso East in Villa Park.
With the triumph Willowbrook improved its overall record to 6-2 and 2-0 in the conference.
This contest was over early as the Warriors jumped to a 8-2 lead and then used a 13-2 run in the final 2:35 of the first quarter to take a 25-11 advantage after eight minutes. They were up 39-18 at halftime.
Krawczykowski scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the opening quarter. The junior’s first two baskets came when she finished off fastbreaks that beat the Pirates press. Then she scored on some slashing moves to the hoop.
“I wanted Molly to be aggressive and attack the basket because Proviso East has shot blockers and you can get a foul when you attack the basket,” Harrell said. “Molly is one of our girls who really goes to the basket.”
“I had a good shooting day today — I felt good,” Krawczykowski said. “We wanted to get out to a good lead so we could work on our offense and really work on things.”
Besides Krawczykowski, Willowbrook got good games in the post from Anita Sterling and Erma Udota, who scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. Melissa Rader also contributed 9 points off the bench. Point guard Angela Bruno did her usual superb job of quarterbacking the offense, especially when racing up the court.
The Warriors exhibit a high level of unselfish play, which is certainly a big part of their early success this season. Players frequently passed up open shots to get the ball to a teammate who was even more open and closer to the basket.
“All of the girls, they like playing with each other,” Harrell said. “They don’t mind delivering to a teammate for an open shot. That goes a long way, especially against the press.”
The way Krawczykowski sees it, it is all about teamwork.
“We win as a team,” she said. “One person does not win for everyone. We want to make sure that everyone gets part of our win. We do it together.”
For the Pirates (3-4), they were led by a game-high 20 points from Diamond Courts. Turnovers hurt them as they gave up the ball 17 times in the first two quarters.
“We did not do a good job taking care of the ball and they capitalized on the turnovers that we made,” said Proviso East coach Ezra PridGeon.