Glenbard South comeback catches St. Charles North

Trailing by 5 points with 6:49 remaining, Glenbard South showed the grit and poise reflective of an experienced girls basketball team on Tuesday night.

Led by seniors Sydney Bauman, Jenna Brambora, Ivana Markovic and junior point guard Payton Carli, the Raiders (22-3) went on a 16-8 run over the final 6:03 to pull out a 55-52 nonconference victory over St. Charles North (17-8) in St. Charles.

"They have a lot of heart," Raiders coach Julie Fonda said of her team, which extended its winning streak to 12 games. "One thing you can count on my team to never do is give up. Last week they were down 13-1 against Riverside-Brookfield and ended up beating them (59-48).

"They're a group that has tenacity and the attitude that they're never going to give up until the buzzer goes off."

Glenbard South took the lead for good at 50-49 on a three-point play by 6-foot-4 center Bauman with 2:43 left.

A few moments later, the Raiders' defense forced back-to-back turnovers that resulted in baskets from Brambora and Markovic to make it 54-49.

"Those back-to-back steals were huge," Fonda said. "That was a total momentum shift."

Bauman, who scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, and Markovic each added 3 steals for the Raiders.

"I've been preaching defense to these kids since they were freshmen," Fonda said. "They buy into it and it's hard to get kids to buy into defense. After hearing me scream about it for four years, they're there."

Carli and Brambora chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Raiders, who haven't lost a game since Dec. 26 against Hersey.

"We're a veteran team - we've been down before," Brambora said. "When we get down, we know we can come back."

It was an uncharacteristic finish for St. Charles North, which had its seven-game winning streak snapped after committing 5 of its 17 turnovers in the fourth quarter - many coming at crucial points of the contest.

"We had three straight turnovers, and on the flip side at the defensive end we gave up two straight layups," said North Stars coach Sean Masoncup.

Junior forward Claire Jakaitis led the North Stars with 18 points, 4 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

"She had a huge game," Masoncup said of Jakaitis, the Montini transfer who made all 5 of her field-goal attempts in the first half and finished 7 of 8. "We didn't get the ball in to Claire enough tonight. We just didn't."

A 3-pointer by junior guard Kyla Helsel - her fourth of the game - pulled the North Stars within 54-52 with 1:28 remaining.

Although the Raiders misfired on 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch, the North Stars couldn't capitalize. They committed a turnover and missed their last 3 shots over the final 1:05.

"Those days just happen," Fonda said of her team's struggles from the free-throw line. "You have to continue to push forward and do the other things on the other side of the court."

Glenbard South begins Class 3A regional action on Feb. 18 at St. Joseph.

"We've been waiting for a game like this all season," Brambora said. "All three of our losses were close games against good teams - Hersey, Downers Grove North and Geneva. This is real big going into the postseason."

Nichole Davidson had 13 points and 8 rebounds while Morgan Rosencrants added 9 points and 10 rebounds for the North Stars, who will host their own Class 4A regional next week.

"We have to do a better job and we're going to get better," Masoncup said. "That's what the next five days are for."