Glenbard West wrests tourney title from Glenbard South
It's one thing to win a tournament championship. It's a bonus to do it against your cross-town rival.
"It means a lot," Hilltoppers junior post player Taylor Huff said. "Last year we lost to South by, I think, 2 points. So the fact that we got back and we got to win and everyone contributed, it really means a lot."
This time the Hilltoppers took control of the girls basketball game from the start and never let go, taking a 42-30 win and the title of the District 87 Rachel Bach Memorial Tournament at Glenbard East.
An injury kept Huff out of last year's game against Glenbard South.
"So the fact I got to play with my teammates in this championship was really awesome," said Huff, the tournament MVP.
Glenbard West led after one quarter 10-3.
"We talked about trying to win the first three minutes," Glenbard West coach Kristi Faulkner said. "There was a lot of energy, emotion and excitement, and we tried to use that to fuel a good start."
The lead hit double digits when Hilltoppers senior guard Katelyn Heller hit a pair of free throws. The margin peaked at 14 points.
"The team played really hard," said Faulkner, a former University of Iowa teammate of Glenbard South coach Morgan Kasperek. "They brought great energy tonight. We talked a lot about rebounding and defense and focusing on the things we could control. It was a total team effort and everybody defensively helped out each other and communicated. It was a good win."
The Raiders (3-1) made just 11 of 50 shots for the game, including just 1 of 12 in the first quarter.
""We shot poorly for the whole game, especially at the beginning, so that kind of hurt," Raiders acting coach Steve Gross said. "But defensively we didn't play very well, and then just physically they just manhandled us. So we've got to learn from that. We're young, and it's a physical game and we backed down and they took advantage."
Heller led the Hilltoppers with 13 points. Maggie Stutelberg and Renee Seaney added 9 points apiece, and Huff scored 8 to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Senior Maggie Bair's 12 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks led the Raiders.
Heller, Bair and Glenbard South guard Lauren Cohen joined Huff on the all-tournament team.
The Hilltoppers played without 6-foot-2 senior Jamiyah Thomas, who will miss a chunk of the season with a shin injury.