Girls Basketball: Rich Central edges out host Andrew

Updated: November 19, 2011 8:39PM

Rich Central’s girls basketball team will likely need some time in order to get all of its players used to one another.

Despite that, the Olympians have gotten off to the type of start that should make that transition a whole lot smoother.

On Saturday, Rich Central improved to 4-0 after picking up its third win in three days in the Andrew Girls Turkey Tourney.

In a clash of 2-0 teams in the event, the Olympians won the championship game 49-43 over the host T-Bolts in Tinley Park.

“I like the positive attitudes on this team,” Olympians coach Bryan Craig said. “I did a lot of subbing and the girls didn’t have a problem with it since they know it’s for a common purpose.

“We were playing pretty sloppy lately but I’m glad we have enough experience that we were able to move the ball down the floor while being smart and not taking shots when we didn’t have to.” 

The T-Bolts (2-1) jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the opening quarter, thanks to eight points from Nicole Botich, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

But the Olympians responded by scoring the final 11 points of the first period and the initial two points of the second quarter to build a 19-11 advantage.

Andrew closed to within five points a couple of times in the second period before Rich Central claimed a 30-20 halftime lead.

The Olympians led by as many as 14 points early in the final quarter before the hosts closed the gap during the late going.

Leading the way for Rich Central were Chaz Duson (14 points), Alex Stanford (10 points, six assists) and Ariel Sneed (eight points).

“I liked how our press did and after got the lead, we just had to hold them down,” Stanford said. “I also like our athleticism and if we can put it all together, then we’ve got it.”

Other top scorers for Andrew were Tiana Karopulos (12 points), Catherine Foley (nine points) and Amy Jendra (eight points, 6 rebounds).

“Rich Central posed a lot of problems for us with their quickness and athleticism,” T-Bolt coach Bob Matz said. “We knew that we’d make turnovers, but we learned from our mistakes.

“Most importantly, we never stopped and just kept coming at them and I was really proud of that. We told the girls that this loss wasn’t a step backward, it was two steps forward.”

In the third place game, Oak Lawn held off Joliet West 55-53. LaTondra Brooks led the Spartans (2-2) with 29 points while Brooke Annerino added nine points.

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