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Girls Basketball: Rich Central too much for Joliet Central
Updated: November 15, 2011 9:39PM
It didn’t take long for the Rich Central girls basketball team to show why it’s ranked in the SouthtownStar’s Top 10. The Olympians used relentless ball pressure Tuesday night to maul Joliet Central 60-30 in the opener for each team.
Returning leading scorer Chaz Duson led Rich Central’s aggressive defense. Duson helped force five Joliet Central turnovers in the first 90 seconds of play, helping Rich Central jump out to a 20-3 lead after one quarter.
“I want my defense to be intimidating,” Duson said. “I’m not the most fundamental player, but I like to use my athleticism and speed to make plays.”
A late arrival to the game of basketball, Duson practices with they boys whenever she can. She works on her fundamentals during summer vacation in order to catch up with some of her more sound teammates.
It seems to be paying off. Duson muscled around inside, scoring many of her game-high 20 points on hard-nose drives to the paint and offensive putbacks. The senior finished with nine rebounds to go with her six steals.
“Chaz is unorthodox. But she get results, and I can’t deny that.” Rich Central coach Bryan Craig said.
Joliet Central was led by Nijea Dixon’s 15 points. Dixon was the lone Central player looking for her shot, and she scored on a couple of nifty drives to the basket.
Thornwood transfer Jessica Warren made an immediate impact in her first game with the Olympians. The 6-foot-3 center provided pesky defense down low. She scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“We’ve been working on our defense for a long time,” Craig said. “The offense will come; we have a lot of ballplayers. But good defense is our main goal right now.
Rich Central point guard Alex Stanford was one of Craig’s main on-ball defenders. Stanford finished with five steals and six assists.
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