Big rebounding edge carries Glenbard South
Box out and start fast.
Those were the marching orders for Glenbard South heading into Thursday's Class 3A regional title game against Chicago Bulls Prep. The Raiders could not have followed orders any better in their 52-19 defeat of the Bulls, who took to the floor in Glen Ellyn with a 22-5 record after knocking off DRW College Prep in the regional semis.
With sophomore Mady Carli knocking down a trio of 3-pointers early, the Raiders (18-10) stormed out to a 23-4 lead after one quarter and never looked back. With freshman Maggie Bair pulling down a personal-best 20 rebounds, the hosts dominated the glass and built leads of 38-12 at the half and 50-12 after three quarters while breezing to the regional crown.
“It was good knowing that Maggie and Ashley (Dodge) and Ally (Daca) are down there,” said Carli, who admitted that the Glenbard South rebounders give her confidence to fire away from beyond the arc. “If I miss they're always going to be down there. Tonight was really fun.”
Raiders first-year coach Morgan Kasperek had fun watching her team outrebound the Bulls 50-12 and play solid defense for four quarters.
“That was my biggest thing tonight. I said we have to box out,” said Kasperek, whose team will play Chicago North Lawndale in Monday's sectional action, also at Glenbard South. “I've been harping on that all year and this was the first game all year where I felt we really boxed people out. Maggie Bair went to the rim with two hands every time and she was ripping rebounds down.
“And Ally Daca did a nice job as well.”
Daca had 10 points, 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots, while Dodge chipped in with 8 points and GiDean Helck had 6 rebounds off the bench. But Glenbard South also excelled on defense, limiting Bulls sharpshooter Shonta Lockett to 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting and not sending the Chicago school to the free-throw line once the entire night.
“Coach really focused on D tonight and on some of their players, about really shutting them down and not letting them drive the middle; that we had to stop them right away,” said Bair, who had 15 points to go with her 20 rebounds even while sitting out the fourth quarter. “We did that and we forced them to take some crazy shots and then we cleaned it up on the boards.”
Bair added that the team was focused on a quick start and then not letting up at all against a Bulls team that came from behind to win in the regional semis.
“She really stressed on starting strong in the first quarter and not letting up, because yesterday they came back from a 20-point deficit or something like that,” Bair said. “And coach told us we will not let that happen tonight.”
The Raiders did not.