Balanced Glenbard South wins rivalry game

Glenbard South junior guard Ivana Markovic liked the way her team started Monday’s girls basketball game against cross-town rival Glenbard West.

She wasn’t alone.

The Raiders got off to their best start of the season in their second game at Glenbard East’s Rachel Bach Tournament, cruising to a 49-24 victory in Lombard.

“Everybody contributed and it was a fresh start to the actual start to the season,” Markovic said.

“They were excited for this game,” coach Julie Fonda said of her Raiders (2-1). “Anytime you play West it’s an exciting rivalry between the two schools. They got after it from the get-go, and that’s what I expect from them every game. I hope that it continues and I hope they feel that and they can push for building on it.”

The Raiders jumped out to a 12-2 lead late in the first quarter on Markovic’s 3-pointer off a Jenna Brambora assist. The Hilltoppers reduced the margin to single digits briefly, but the Raiders led 26-13 at halftime. Then they started the second half with a 10-1 run.

“I liked the contribution from the entire team,” Fonda said. “The bench was talking, everybody was in it. I was able to change defenses on the fly and they adjusted. To me the mental part of the game today was right on. I’ll take that any day of the week over the physical. That contributes to the good physical stuff happening.”

Raiders senior Tomei Ball was the only player to score in double digits, putting in 12 points. She also had 7 rebounds. Center Sydney Bauman added 7 points and blocked 6 Hilltoppers shots.

“She has a real nose for the ball,” Fonda said of Bauman. “She doesn’t necessarily have the quickest feet, but she anticipates really well. You can credit some of that to volleyball, I’d imagine. She’s around the basket and she doesn’t give up on the fact that somebody’s driving on her. She’s going to try to contribute by blocking or doing whatever she can.”

About the only thing Glenbard South struggled with was its shooting. It made 20 of 60 shots from the floor.

“But our inside game and our passing were on,” Markovic pointed out.

Meanwhile, turnovers were a problem for Glenbard West (0-3). The Hilltoppers lost the ball 28 times.

“We’ve got a good group of kids that are just fundamentally making bad choices, and we’re going to have to evaluate what we need to do to get better,” Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said. “I don’t doubt that there’s 14 kids in that locker room that all care, care about each other and want to do the right thing. We just as coaches have to put them in the right spots. If something’s not clicking, like throwing the ball away so much, we’re going to have to fix it.”

Follow Orrin on Twitter @orrin_schwarz