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Girls Basketball: Bartlett’s second-quarter run dooms Neuqua Valley
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 18, 2012 9:46PM
Neuqua Valley could not have scripted a better beginning to its game with unbeaten No. 6 Bartlett Wednesday in Naperville. The No. 15 Wildcats led by four points early and were tied with just two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
However, the next nine minutes were a horror show for the hosts, who went 0-for-14 from the field, 0-for-5 from the free-throw line and looked as though they had a better chance of winning the lottery than making a basket.
“Shot after shot after shot,” Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. “You just have to sit on the bench and watch. You can’t do anything else.”
Bartlett (22-0, 8-0 in the Upstate Eight Valley) took advantage of Neuqua Valley’s shooting woes to score 20 unanswered points, breaking away from a 13-13 tie and building a 37-15 halftime lead en route to a 59-42 victory.
“It’s not like we don’t practice shooting or practice free throws,” Williams said. “Bartlett is a great team. You need to make your shots. They are going to score a lot of points. You need to score.”
Haley Videckis (19 points), Kristin Conniff (16 points) and Ashley Johnson (eight points) provided all the scoring Bartlett would need.
“We try to build a big lead early by coming out with intensity on defense and capitalizing on the turnovers we create,” Videckis said. “We did not do that right away tonight, and we also need to work on rebounding better on the defensive end.”
Whatever shortcomings Bartlett might have, team chemistry is not one of them.
“I love playing with these girls,” Videckis said. “Nobody cares who scores or who makes the passes. I know we’re capable of doing great things come playoff time.”
Bartlett eventually built a 25-point lead at 41-16 on a basket by Lisa Palmer with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter, but Neuqua Valley (16-4, 4-3) closed the deficit to 44-28 four minutes later on a rebound basket by 6-foot sophomore Kristen Moore (11 points, seven rebounds).
“We’ve been inconsistent all year as far as how we come out at the beginning of the game and in the middle of the game,” Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. “We’re trying to get in line and play consistently throughout the game.
“We’ve done this before,” the coach added. “We get out to a big lead and then we kind of let up. It’s a total team thing. Basketball’s a game of runs. Even though you have a big lead, you don’t want to let your guard down.”
The Neuqua Valley rally was short-lived, however, as Bartlett answered with a 12-0 run to double up the hosts at 56-28 with a little more than six minutes remaining in the game.
Sophomore Najee Smith (five rebounds, two steals) scored seven points and classmate Malia Smith added six points for Neuqua Valley.
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