Glenbrook South starts New Year strong with win over rival Glenbrook North
By design, Glenbrook South's girls basketball team came out fast against its closest rival.
The Titans scored on their opening possession in all four quarters against Glenbrook North at the Titan Dome in Glenview on Jan. 6. When opportunities arose Glenbrook South looked to beat the Spartans downcourt via the pass or going hard to the hoop.
Sophomore guard Gina Davorija capitalized with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots to pace the Titans' 47-28 victory.
"They pressured us on defense, so moving the ball quick and driving really helped us get to the basket," Davorija said.
Titans coach Scott Nemecek's emphasis was to maintain momentum after winning Wheaton North's holiday tournament, in preparation for a difficult six-game stretch against Lake Zurich, Geneva, Evanston, Maine South, Loyola and New Trier.
Glenbrook South improved to 16-2 overall, 5-1 in the Central Suburban League South.
"The emotion of winning a tournament against a really good team (Schaumburg) and then many days off and sort of now starting back up, it kind of felt like we were starting from scratch a little bit," Nemecek said.
A 30-point win over Glenbrook North on Nov. 29 did not factor into either team's thinking.
"Our motivation is, honestly, just to keep getting better," said Spartans junior guard Caitlyn Ethen. "I mean, there were a lot of people that doubted us and we just want to prove them wrong. Our goal this year is the regionals - get there and play our hardest."
Glenbrook North (11-6, 2-4) out-rebounded the home team, committed just 7 turnovers, patiently passed the basketball for the best shot, and held Glenbrook South below 50% shooting from the floor.
"I think they did a really good job of making it hard on us," Nemecek said. "We didn't have a lot of easy baskets at times. I feel like we didn't really get any steals and layups very often, they packed the paint pretty well, they got back on defense.
"It definitely was a struggle for us, there's no question. Even though we won by what seems like a comfortable margin it didn't feel particularly comfortable, to be honest," he said.
Still, Davorija's inside basket 22 seconds into the game, and Christina Korompilas' fast-break lay-in had Spartans coach Nick Capalbo call for a time out and gave Glenbrook South a lead it never relinquished.
"I guess we had a lot of energy. It was our first game of 2023 so we wanted to start out strong," said Davorija, followed in team scoring by Paige Simon and Anna Rosenberger each with 8 points, and Korompilas with 7.
Baskets by Glenbrook North's Brecken Carsello and Bryce Wolf had the Spartans within 11-8 after one quarter, but 3-point baskets by Simon and Dana Ralston gave the Titans a 23-13 halftime lead.
Where it could Glenbrook North sought to crowd the paint on both ends of the court. The 6-foot Carsello was up for that.
"(A goal) was try to get into the paint as much as possible, try to get the easiest shot we could get. We didn't get there a lot, but when we did get it there we utilized it pretty well, I think," she said.
Davorija's running left-hander gave Glenbrook South a 33-16 lead after three quarters. Korompilas' 3-point play had the Titans up 43-21 before Spartans post player Megan Walther stepped out for a 17-foot jumper and Kate Leverenz hit a 3 to make it a little closer.
Leverenz scored 6 points and Ethen 5 to lead Glenbrook North.
After the game, Nemecek took the house microphone and presented Sidney Rogers with a special basketball noting the senior guard's surpassing the 1,000-point mark Dec. 27 at Wheaton North.
"Scoring it at an away tournament was, I guess, great to get it, but just having it be here and being announced here, it's great to have the home crowd here, and hearing everyone here, so that was nice," Rogers said.