Willowbrook starting to come together on the court
After its first week of practice with a complete group, Willowbrook felt ready to go on Senior Night.
The results certainly showed that.
Behind their pressure defense that forced 24 turnovers, the Warriors cruised to a 65-42 victory over Addison Trail on Friday in the West Suburban Gold opener for both teams.
Sam Tumilty and Everett Stubblefield III, two players who were key cogs in the semifinal run of the football team, led the home team with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
"We came out and played fast on defense," Tumilty said. "We have a lot of quick guys out there and we play aggressive defense. That helps get our offense going.
"It definitely took a few days (to get into basketball mode); I still think about (football) a little. But overall the team is jelling together more. Getting more games under our belt, we are starting to play together."
Willowbrook (3-2, 1-0) had begun the season by splitting its four games at the St. Charles East tournament, though the football players had just one shootaround to prepare for that.
This time around, with more practice, the Warriors started out quick. Issac Gaines scoring the first eight points as Willowbrook eventually led 20-7 at the end of the first quarter.
"We did a good job," Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins said. "We got our hands on a lot of balls. But there are still things we need to clean up.
"It was Senior Night, our first home game, so we are pleased to get the win. But it is early in the year and just like everybody else, we still have flaws we need to work on."
Stubblefield had six of the team's 15 steals. That defense helped extend a 12-point halftime advantage to 52-30 by the end of three quarters.
"Before the tourney we only had one practice together," Stubblefield said. "We were a little rusty, we came out slow. Now with that full week of practice, we were able to play a full game and play up to our potential."
Sam Bruns also knocked down a trio to 3-pointers to finish with 9 points.
Anthony Carlson topped the Blazers (2-3, 0-1) with 16 points and Rob Roszkiewicz finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
"You have to handle the ball against those guys," Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons said. "It is something we are aware of and something we are working on. It's a little trial by fire right now, we have a lot of new guys playing varsity for the first time. The goal is to be better a month from now."