Sports
Lady Raiders Final Four Bound With Win Against Edwardsville
Bolingbrook 59, Edwardsville 45. The Lady Raiders stormed out of the halftime locker room with an unmatched edge as senior Ariel Massengale scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half to launch Bolingbrook back into the Class 4A Final Four.
BLOOMINGTON—Bolingbrook guaranteed a return trip to the Bloomington-Normal area Friday by virtue of its 59-45 win against Edwardsville on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. The Lady Raiders only had two players in double figures, with junior Morgan Tuck leading the way with 20 points and senior Ariel Massengale chipping in with 17 in the Super-Sectional clinching win.
BHS (27-2) went into the locker room at halftime holding onto a slim 22-19 margin after Edwardsville (31-3) matched the No. 1 ranked team in the state shot-for-shot in the first half. The Tigers drew to within one point in the closing seconds of the second quarter, but Massengale's lay-up before the halftime buzzer gave the Lady Raiders a bit of breathing room and seemingly woke up a slumbering giant.
Bolingbrook started the third quarter with a 9-2 spurt that ballooned into a 15-5 run that spanned nearly the first seven minutes of the period. The Lady Raiders outscored the Tigers 18-8 in the third, taking control of the contest with a newfound sense of urgency from Massengale and Tuck.
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Patch’s MVP: Ariel Massengale scored 12 of her 17 points after halftime, including seven in the decisive third quarter.
Key Stats: The Lady Raiders forced 28 turnovers and turned that into 18 points. Edwardsville shot 58.3 percent from the field during the second half, but attempted half as many field goals than Bolingbrook after halftime.
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Bolingbrook's Leaders: Morgan Tuck (20 points, six rebounds), Ariel Massengale (17 points, six assists).
Edwardsville's Leaders: Emmonnie Henderson (15 points, 10 rebounds), Caty Ponce (13 points).
Quotable I: "First half we kind of tip-toed through things, but the third quarter they came out and played well." -Bolingbrook head coach Tony Smith on the difference between the first and second half
Quotable II: "We let them go on a run and they just pulled away from us a little too far for what we can handle." - Lori Blade, Edwardsville head coach on what happened during Bolingbrook's third quarter run
Team Records: Bolingbrook (27-2), Edwardsville (31-3)
What’s Next: Bolingbrook returns to Bloomington-Normal on Friday against Whitney Young at Redbird Arena against the winner of the Chicago (St. Xavier University) regional.
