Sports
Power Play Pushes Bolingbrook Past Naperville Central In Gritty Contest
The Bolingbrook Lady Raiders scratched and clawed their way to a 67-43 win with defense, rebounding and pounding away in the paint.
It wasn't Bolingbrook at its prettiest, but the gritty effort was enough to push the Lady Raiders past Naperville Central and into the Romeoville Sectional final tomorrow night.
Take for example Bolingbrook's All-American Ariel Massengale. The senior guard—headed for the University of Tennessee next season—was a bit off her game according to her coach.
"That wasn't her best today. But she's definitely a great player and she's going to bring something every day," said Lady Raiders coach Tony Smith. "Today probably wasn't her best, but I'm looking forward to Thursday."
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Massengale scored 10 points for the Lady Raiders in , but left a few more markers on the floor with several missed opportunities.
Still, it didn't stop the spark plug point guard from being a contributor. Massengale disrupted the Naperville Central offense with four steals to help spur Bolingbrook's staunch defense.
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Offensively, the Lady Raiders turned to Morgan Tuck.
Tuck's 26 proved to be too much for the Redhawks to handle on the block. Naperville (Central) only trailed by five points with 4:44 remaining before halftime, but Bolingbrook ended the quarter on a 19-5 run as the two-time defending state champions reverted to a familiar formula.
Getting points in the paint.
Smith said of Tuck's performance: "She definitely dominated inside and that's what our team needed."
As for Bolingbrook's head coach, he'll return to the lab in search of another motivational push as the team leads up to its sectional final match-up on Thursday.
After a , the Lady Raiders followed with a , the Lady Raiders were challenged to an extent by the Redhawks' physical play.
Bolingbrook's next challenge? Putting together a full 32 minutes of solid basketball.
When asked how close his team was to putting it all together, Smith joked: "I'm glad I don't have any hair right now."
But then, regained focus and put forth a serious response.
"We played in spurts again. That focus and intensity wasn't there for even a half," Smith said. "I've got to find out a way to find it out and fix it, but we can play a lot better and be a lot more intense."
The Lady Raiders have until Thursday to sharpen up before heading to the floor in search of the school's seventh consecutive sectional title.
