Glenbard South's Bair racks up big numbers in final home game

As farewell games go, it would be hard to beat Maggie Bair's last time playing in the Glenbard South gym.

Probably the best girls basketball player in Raiders history, Bair nearly notched a triple-double in limited minutes in a 53-18 victory against visiting Larkin.

"It's gone by really fast, and I've played with some really good people in this gym and it's like sad that I'll never play here again," the senior Drake University recruit said. "But it was a nice way to go out. It was a nice way to end, with a win."

"That was hard," added Raiders coach Morgan Kasperek. "She came off the court and the hug, it's hard, you know? We've got one more regular-season game and then any one can be our last. She's been with me for four years, as long as I've been here, so it will be rough. And she's more than a great basketball player, she's a great kid."

Bair ended up with 22 points, 17 rebounds, 8 blocked shots and 3 assists in a game the Raiders led from start to finish. The Raiders finish the regular season at West Chicago on Wednesday, then head to the Class 3A Plano regional next week.

Sophomore guard Lauren Cohen added 11 points for the Raiders (20-7, 14-3), and Iman Sellers scored 9.

"Defensively, I thought we brought the intensity," Kasperek said. "We started off a little rough offensively. Missed way too many bunnies, inside shots. And then we cleaned it up in the second half. We pushed the ball well, which was nice to see. I don't think we've done that enough this year. And we took away the middle, which is a focus of ours. Some good things, some things we still need to work on, but overall it was a good game."

Glenbard South jumped out to an 11-1 lead after one quarter, 24-9 at halftime. The Raiders hit another gear in the third quarter, outscoring the Royals 23-6.

Junior Brianna Young led the Royals (12-17, 7-10) with 8 points.

"She played hard, she played hard," Larkin coach Steve Knapp said of Young. "I think as a team collectively we just didn't play well. I thought the first half defensively we actually played really well. We just couldn't shoot the ball. We couldn't get any offense running. We weren't moving.

"Credit Glenbard South. They play good man-to-man defense. We couldn't get by them. Had a little spark there. I think we cut it to 11, 20-9. Then the floodgates kind of opened up there in the third quarter."