Strong finish the difference for Bartlett at Glenbard East
Bartlett set a goal after beating Prospect to finish 12th at the Dundee-Crown Christmas tournament in December.
The Hawks were determined to win the Upstate Eight Valley championship.
"We didn't really talk about this until the end of the Christmas tournament," Bartlett coach Dave Mello said. "That was our second-half emphasis. We said, 'Let's win the conference championship.' Tonight we came in and said, 'Let's win it outright. No co-champs or anything like that.'"
Sophomore guard Kayla Hare made sure the nine Bartlett seniors did not have to share the league title Tuesday, banging home back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to wipe out a 31-30 deficit and lead the Hawks to a 39-31 win over Glenbard East in Lombard.
The win, the ninth in a row for Bartlett (18-7), put the Hawks at 8-0 in conference play. Glenbard East, the last team with a chance to force a tie for the Valley title, fell to 14-9 overall and 5-3 in league play.
"I felt like we really brought our intensity tonight," Hare said. "This was really important for the seniors. Their intensity brings a whole new level to the team. They really get us moving because we really want to go far this year."
A basket by Glenbard East's Ashley Brown gave the Rams a 31-30 lead with 5:39 remaining in the game. That's when Hare took over. She hit her first 3-pointer with 3:38 left, then after Glenbard East was unable to answer, she stretched the lead to 36-31 with another 3-pointer at the 2:43 mark.
"There were a lot of good screens to get me open, really good passes," said Hare, who now has 51 3-pointers on the season. "Everyone moved really well to get me open."
Hare finished with 14 points, Kaitlin Brohan added 9 points and Kelly Harris had 5 points and 6 rebounds for Bartlett, which outscored Glenbard East 9-2 in the fourth quarter.
"Glenbard East is a phenomenal team," Mello said. "They battled us twice. It was a 7-point game at our place and an 8-point game tonight, but the score is not indicative of the game at all. It feels good to take care of business here. Now we've got two games left to fine tune and get ready for the state tournament."
William Penn recruit Brasia Solid had 15 points and 7 rebounds for Glenbard East.
"We were right there with them, we just didn't do any anything in the fourth quarter," Glenbard East coach Don Finnie said. "It was a good game. We fight hard. We've got a good ballclub. It was just one of those things. The fourth quarter we didn't come out and play hard."