Girls Basketball: Lady Raiders Stacking up Well When Compared to Past Teams

The Bolingbrook High School girls basketball team might be 13-1 at the moment—riding high on senior forward Morgan Tuck’s outstanding play—but how do the Lady Raiders compare to past state champions at the midway point?

Quite favorably, according to Lady Raiders head coach Tony Smith.

Smith has led five previous Bolingbrook squads to 4A IHSA state titles, including . Now, he says can see many similarities between his 2011-12 girls and past teams.

“I think they’re right there with them,” Smith said. “Every year, we question whether our kids want to and how tough are they. To be a champion, you have to be tough and have a lot of heart. We can’t see if we are yet until playoff time. When things are one-and-done, when things aren’t going well, when there are bad calls, how they respond to that will provide the answer.”

Struggles with focus and effort have occurred throughout the year, Smith said, culminating in a in the Nike Tournament of Champions that most likely cost the Lady Raiders the national championship.

A full effort is needed to now win a state championship.

“I’m worried about conditioning and focus, because once you get tired, your mind starts to go,” Smith said. “Those things happen. We need to make sure we get ourselves into good conditioning so when we do get tired, we could be focused a bit longer.”

But Tuck said the team has steadily improved throughout the year by playing more as a cohesive unit instead of individuals. She said the team is developing consistency, but needs to stay hungry to be queens of the hill again.

“I know that we have won in the past, but the past doesn’t matter any more,” Tuck said. “We have to act like we haven’t won the last three years and come out playing like each game is the championship game.”

Smith and his girls feel losing and Taylor Tuck (Illinois) are huge adjustments, but this Lady Raiders team has another potent weapon: size.

“I say we have more of a big lineup,” said senior DeLacy Anderson, a 6-foot-2 post player. “We have longer wings and we use that to our advantage. We did lose Ariel and our wing Taylor, and they can’t be replaced. But we are definitely adjusting to that, working hard to compete.”

Other players north of 6-feet include Tuck (6-foot-2), senior centers Cabrina Capers and Charosnese Williams (both 6-foot-1) and senior forwards Nia Moore (6-foot-3) and Annaya Moore (6-foot-2).

Tuck has led the offensive charge by averaging over 30 points a game, but Capers and recently Nia Moore have also contributed down low. In fact, Moore tallied a career-high 15 points in Monday’s 67-36 win over Niles West in the McDonald’s Shootout.

“Nia definitely has stepped up,” Tuck said. “We’ve been on her that she has to be an offensive threat.”

Aside from the bigs, Smith has been happy with the guard play. He said the most improved players are junior guard Kennedy Cattenhead and senior guard Keira Ray.

“Kennedy is getting better at playing the point everyday with the experience she gets,” Smith said. “She is having more confidence and is becoming a leader. Keira is looking to score more. She’s able to shoot the three, and going to the hole stronger too. She’s also making better choices with the ball by making sure we are passing to the right person.”

Anderson has also noticed Cattenhead working hard to fill in Massengale’s shoes, saying Caattenhead is doing a great job.

“Kennedy is working hard before and after practices to become a leader on this team,” said Anderson, who said Cattenhead was previously a two-guard. “She is able to set up the different players by attack the gap, set up for the post or kick it out to the wing for the jump shot.”

The Lady Raiders continue their quest for another title as they host Lincoln-Way Central 7 p.m. Thursday.