Defense lifts Bartlett past Streamwood

The offense may not have quite been clicking yet for Bartlett's girls basketball team on Tuesday night in just the Hawks' second game since the holiday tournament at Dundee-Crown. The defense, however, was firing on all cylinders in a 43-33 Upstate Eight crossover win against visiting Streamwood.

The Hawks connected on just 17-of-48 (35 percent) of their shots from the field, but held the Sabres to only 10-of-31 (32 percent) shooting from the field and forced 28 turnovers.

"Our offense is still struggling to get on track after the long layoff," Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. "It was not a good shooting night for us, but it is nice to have a good solid defense to help you weather the storm on nights like this. We pride ourselves on 'D'. I thought we did a good job of limiting their opportunities."

After falling behind early the Hawks (11-6) went on a 9-1 run at the end of the first quarter to grab a 12-7 lead they never gave up. Kaitlin Brohan scored 7 of her team-high 11 points in the first quarter to give Bartlett a lift.

"It's been tough getting in a rhythm since coming back from break with the snow days last week," Brohan said. "The shots weren't falling the way we would like, but the defense kept us in the game. I have tried to stay sharp by playing at the gym."

The Hawks strung together an 11-0 run in the second quarter to open a comfortable 23-9 lead. Kelly Harris had 3 baskets during the stretch.

Bartlett led by double digits most of the rest of the way until the Sabres (4-13) made a late push to get to within 39-33 with just over 2 minutes left to play. But it was too little too late. Brohan and Harris both had baskets late for Bartlett to help seal the win.

Bartlett's Nicole Gerdevich did a nice job defensively by holding one of Streamwood's top scoring threats, Kiana Jeremiah, scoreless through the first 3 quarters. Kayla Hare had a nice game off the bench for the Hawks with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Streamwood sophomore Jenejha Williams had a nice game with 15 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort. Williams had the Sabres' only 3 field goals in the first half.

"(Bartlett) was aggressive on defense and challenged us," Streamwood coach George Rosner said. "Jenejha had a solid game, but she needed more help. We need to get the ball in other hands too and make some plays."