Ball, Bauman combine to pace Glenbard South
With 12 points in the first quarter, you would have thought it would be Sydney Bauman who would have the game high for the Glenbard South girls basketball team against St. Francis.
Instead it was teammate Tomei Ball who stole the show.
Ball ended the night with 24 points, dropping three 3-pointers while Bauman had 16 points to lead the Raiders (14-6) to a 72-43 point nonconference victory over the Spartans (8-11).
“Tomei’s not as tall as Sydney by any means but she plays a great post,” said Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda, comparing the 5-foot-10 ball and the 6-3 Bauman. “So even with Sydney out and Megan Smith does a really great job at the post as well… . We had a post presence that was nice to see.”
Glenbard South took a quick lead in the beginning of the game and didn’t look back as it ended the first quarter up 23-9. The height and defensive pressure from the Raiders were too much for the Spartans, as Bauman really took advantage of her size.
Bauman’s big play in the post opened up shots for Ball and the rest of the Raiders, and the quick ball movement helped Glenbard South find the open shots it needed. Glenbard South also had the advantage with the 3-point shot, dropping in 6 while the Spartans had 4.
“Getting the ball inside definitely opens up the perimeter for everybody,” Ball said, “because when they crash Sydney can dish it and we can count on Sydney to make it underneath the basket too…. We moved the ball really well and everyone got some good looks and great shots.”
After halftime St. Francis started to find its rhythm. Freshman guard Mia Mazza had a two quick baskets and sophomore forward Reagan Sproat also chipped into the Spartans’ attack, but the damage had already been done.
Sproat led the Spartans in scoring with 16, dropping two from behind the arc while sophomore Sloane Baumgartner finished with 10 points and Mazza ended with 8 points.
St. Francis had 29 of its 43 points in the second half, but coach Mike Phillips said the start of the game really hurt the Spartans.
“Against a team like that we needed to come out and be ready to go from the opening bell,” Phillips said. “We really didn’t have the effort to match theirs in the first half. We did a better job in the second half and it showed a little bit on the scoreboard.”