Stay Connected with YourSeason
Girls Basketball: Bartlett downs Schaumburg, claims regional title
Updated: February 16, 2012 9:58PM
If it wasn’t apparent to Bartlett that Schaumburg had come to play Thursday from the 23-17 score in the second quarter, the blood streaming from the forehead of Hawks senior star Haley Videckis delivered the message in a less subtle way.
However, Videckis returned to play the second half, Kristin Conniff caught fire from the field, and the Hawks shrugged off the rough play to put away the Saxons 58-40 for the championship of the Bartlett Class 4A Regional.
“It was a very physical game,” Hawks coach Denise Sarna said as her team celebrated their third straight regional crown. “That was obviously the strategy of the other team and eventually their kids fouled out. But I’m proud our kids showed class and kept our composure.
“When Haley went down, I thought Kris really stepped up. Even to the end, there, the entire group that finished up played well.”
The victory put the Hawks in a 6 p.m. Hoffman Estates Class 4A Sectional game against West Chicago on Monday.
“This one feels really good at home in front of our fans,” said Conniff. “It’s a big deal for us.”
Videckis had just two points on 0-of-7 shooting from the floor before getting cut so bad that after the game ended she went to the hospital and expected to have stitches.
“I went up for a rebound and I got, like, an elbow or something into my forehead and the next thing I knew it was gushing blood,” the Indiana-bound star said.
The Hawks went into the locker room up just 25-17 over a team they beat 71-35 Dec. 21. When they returned, Videckis had changed from jersey No. 22 to No. 30, while Conniff dialed in her sights on the basket.
Conniff hit three third-quarter three-pointers and a layup, and the 11 points helped her to a team-high 22 while breaking open the contest. Videckis finished with nine and Janessa Baker 10 for the Hawks (28-1).
“Haley is one of our best players on the team and we all stepped up and filled our roles and we all came together after that (injury),” Conniff said. “My teammates found me, gave me the ball and I just made my shots.
“Every team is going to give their best shot at us. So we expected them to come out physical and we dealt with it.”
The eighth-seeded Saxons, behind a 19-point effort from Amanda Kelly, got to within 29-25 in the third quarter. Then Conniff dealt them a severe blow with back-to-back three-pointers. The Hawks followed it by hitting the boards and playing racehorse style ball to complete a 16-3 run that included a couple fast-break buckets from Videckis. Their 45-28 lead was never again in jeopardy.
Bartlett, which was outrebounded in the first half 22-20, got after it on the boards in the second half and Lisa Palmer finished with seven of her nine rebounds the final two quarters.
“We’re not wimpy, that’s for sure,” Sarna said. “The kids know their jobs. Everybody did their job today. That’s a good win.”
Schaumburg (15-14) got six points and 11 rebounds from Alyssa Saklak before she fouled out, and seven points from Jada Blackwell.
“I’m proud of the way my girls played tonight,” coach Ashley Berggren said. “They fought hard to the last second. They showed they can compete against anybody.”
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment