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Glenbard South adjustment takes momentum from St. Francis

Despite a rough start, success was just one adjustment away for Glenbard South.

"Defensively, I should have switched when I saw who he was starting and I decided to stick with my defensive plan," Raiders girls basketball coach Julie Fonda said. "We went to the press and that was the adjustment we needed to make. That fueled (the Raiders') flame and got them going."

The press helped the Raiders go on a 25-0 run and take a 49-33 victory from St. Francis, and the Raiders earned the Class 3A St. Francis regional championship Friday in Wheaton.

"We had a lot of good energy," Spartans coach Mike Phillips said. "Obviously, Glenbard South is a good team and they know what to do when that happens. They turned it on and we had a hard time keeping pace with them."

The Spartans (13-16) went with a small, quick lineup to start the game, and they used it to take a 12-5 lead with 1:41 to play in the first quarter when Sloane Baumgartner made a layup.

"In that case we don't really match up very well," Fonda said of the Spartans' starters. "It's hard to find who (6-foot-3 junior Sydney Bauman) guards in that instance. She's not going to be able to necessarily stay with a guard."

That problem solved, the Raiders forced 10 St. Francis turnovers in the second quarter, holding the Spartans scoreless until Elinor Cycenas dropped a floater in the lane off the backboard with 6:10 left in the third quarter. That cut the Raiders' lead to 30-14.

"It was our defense," Raiders senior Tomei Ball said. "We needed to pick it up. We did that in the second quarter and we got some turnovers. Obviously, it worked out."

The Raiders' lead hit 26 points in the third quarter before the Spartans trimmed it in the fourth.

"They played really hard and we didn't match what they came at us with in the second quarter," Phillips said. "We did a better job in the second half, but it was too big of a hurdle to get over."

Ball led the Raiders (21-7) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"She's been our rock all year and is our Steady Eddie, and even when things don't necessarily go our way at the end of the game there, we got a little chaotic and didn't take care of the basketball, she's the one that's on the bench going, guys, let's go. Go back to the basics and the fundamentals. That's what we had to do, luckily we had a big enough lead and St. Francis did a nice job of battling back."

Sophomore Reagan Sproat and freshman Mia Mazza scored 10 points apiece for St. Francis.

"They're a good team and you can't underestimate anybody," Ball said of the Spartans. "You've got to come to play every game."

The Raiders return home at 8 p.m. Tuesday to host Marshall in a Class 3A sectional semifinal.

Follow Orrin on Twitter @orrin_schwarz

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