advertisement

Glenbard East goes to Dolinski to defeat Willowbrook

Go big or go home.

With the score tied 40-40, both coaches pretty much knew that was Glenbard East's plan late in Saturday's nonconference girls basketball game with Willowbrook. But knowing what's coming and being able to stop it were two very different things for the Warriors.

So when the Rams went inside to 6-foot-2 senior Cristina Dolinski on back-to-back possessions — resulting in two baskets in the paint and 5 points — the shorter and short-handed Warriors found themselves down 45-40 and eventually on the short end of a 49-43 final score.

Visiting Willowbrook (8-17), which had defeated Hinsdale South on Friday, dressed just eight players Saturday due to injuries but still managed to draw even at 40-40 on Katelyn McCann's fifth 3-pointer of the game. McCann and fellow sophomore guard Hanna Konrath combined for 10 3s and tallied 39 of Willowbrook's 43 points.

But the Rams (7-16) had just too much firepower and height for the Warriors. When Dolinski followed up a three-point play with another bucket, it was 45-40 with 1:57 left to play. Konrath had one final 3 left in her arsenal, but the Rams held on. Mattie Pusateri was 4 for 4 from the foul line in the final minute.

“It felt so good,” Dolinski said. “I know if I'm there I just have to communicate to my teammates that I'm there and they just need to trust me.

“Willowbrook is our rival and we didn't want to lose to them. We just knew to keep our heads up, and it was nice to get this today, especially in our house.”

Rams coach Don Finnie was happy to see his team work the ball down low so well when the game was on the line. Well-placed lobs to the post by Sommer Dolinski and Briana Raysby set the stage for the two big baskets late.

“She came through at the end,” Finnie said of Cristina Dolinski, who finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds, including 7 offensive boards. “But what was really nice was the passes that got into her. It's more than just her putting the ball in the hoop. The people passing to her had some nice passes. That (three-point play) pops the balloon a little bit.”

To Willowbrook's credit, the visitors shook off a slow start that saw them trailing 15-6 after one quarter. With plenty of help from the 3s, several of which banked in off the glass, the Warriors found themselves even late in the fourth quarter.

“It was 40-40 with a couple minutes to go and we couldn't stop them,” Willowbrook coach Terry Harrell said. “That girl was like 6-3 and wide and we couldn't solve that piece of it. I knew they were going to do it and we couldn't get enough ball pressure. We couldn't leave 20 (Raysby) because she had been hot earlier.”

Raysby scored 13 of her team-leading 15 points in the first half, and teammate Faith Davies added 7 points and 7 steals for the Rams.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.