Markovic steps up for Glenbard South
When Glenbard South 6-foot-4 senior Sydney Bauman went to the bench with her fourth foul with 7:05 left in the third quarter Tuesday night, St. Edward fans had a good feeling.
After all, that left Green Wave 6-3 senior Cece Rapp towering over everyone else on the court.
But the Raiders turned on the speed and the defense and outlasted St. Edward 45-36 in Glen Ellyn in a battle of two of the top girls basketball teams in the Metro Suburban West.
Glenbard South (8-1, 2-0) got 20 points and 8 rebounds from 5-10 senior Ivana Markovic, who was also part of a defense that held Rapp scoreless in the fourth quarter after she had scored 23 points in the first three, including 10 in the third quarter when St. Edward (8-1, 1-1) turned a 24-17 halftime deficit into an eventual 31-31 tie on a Casey Gredzieleski basket with a minute to play in the period.
"She's such a versatile player and she understands the game so well," said Raiders' coach Julie Fonda of Markovic. "She has a super high basketball IQ and she's such a huge asset to have in the middle. She's always a threat to go to the basket and she was amazing tonight."
The Raiders grabbed a 33-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter on a putback by junior Payton Carli, one of 15 offensive rebounds Glenbard South had in the game.
Markovic then scored her team's next 6 points on a driving layup, 2 free throws and another drive into the lane, as the Raiders inched ahead 39-34 with 3:47 to play and Bauman, who finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds, still on the bench.
"(Bauman) is a big part of our offense and somebody had to step up," Markovic said. "I just tried to be the one."
St. Edward made one last run at the lead when Gredzieleski hit a jumper in the lane with 3:19 to go to make it 39-36 but St. Edward didn't score again, missing its last 8 shots on a night the Green Wave would shoot just 29.7 percent (14-for-47). Meanwhile, the Raiders were able to take some time off the clock, eventually making it 41-36 on a putback from Bauman, who had re-entered the game with 2:19 to go, at the 1:24 mark, then a baseline drive by senior Jenna Brambora with 37 seconds left made it 43-36 and Markovic finished it off with 2 free throws with 11 seconds to play.
The Glenbard South defense, led by Markovic's 4 steals, didn't allow Rapp a shot in the fourth quarter.
"We switched our defenses and adjusted well," Markovic said. "It was a great team effort but it wasn't our best game."
"Ivana did a phenomenal job on (Rapp)," Fonda said. "(Rapp's) a great player. We did not play a good quality ballgame in our style tonight but it's good to know we can still come out on top against a good quality team like that. We learned some things about ourselves tonight."
As did St. Edward as it ventures deeper into the Metro Suburban wars for the first time.
"We need to focus on finishing," said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson. "We had a great third quarter and then we got a couple steals and didn't convert. It's about playing with a mental toughness and having confidence in yourself. We have to get to that next level. I know we can do it, it's just them figuring it out. It was a learning experience tonight just recognizing that level of play and the mental toughness you have to have game in and game out."
Carli added 9 points for Glenbard South, which outrebounded the Green Wave 39-25.