Girls Basketball: Bolingbrook blows by Lincoln-Way Central

Updated: December 8, 2011 8:35PM

Keiera Ray has some big shoes to fill at Bolingbrook. So far, the glass slipper fits pretty well.

Ray had 14 points, nine steals and four assists, Morgan Tuck had 38 points and eight rebounds and Kennedy Cattenhead added eight points as No. 2 Bolingbrook (3-0, 1-0 in the Southwest Suburban Blue) blasted Lincoln-Way Central 77-22 in the Raiders’ in-state opener Thursday in New Lenox.

Ray and Cattenhead are playing point guard “by committee” following the graduation last spring of Arriel Massengale, who led the Raiders to three state titles before taking her considerable talents to Tennessee.

The transition from shooting guard to the point has been a big one for Ray, a 5-foot-9 senior who began her career as a power forward.

“It’s a big transition, but Kennedy and I are doing pretty well,” Ray said. “The biggest difference is controlling the tempo of the game, controlling the ball and having to handle the ball more often since we don’t have that true point guard. We still have to work on some things.”

Bolingbrook coach Anthony Smith was pleased with all his guards – Ray, Kennedy, Allie Hill and DeLacy Anderson – who made life miserable for Lincoln-Way Central’s ballhandlers.

“Keiera was pretty good on the ball,” Smith said. “She took them out of everything that they wanted to do. She did great job of adding pressure without fouling, so that was great to see. I was really pleased with that and I think that made the game little lopsided.

“I think her, Kennedy, Allie and DeLacy are going to do a pretty good job,” he added. “I think those four guards are going to make it tough on a lot of people. I think if people start sending two or three people at Morgan, they are going to show that they can shoot the ball, too.”

Rachel Post had eight points and Ashley Newton added four points and three rebounds for Lincoln-Way Central (5-3, 0-1).

“The pressure they (Bolingbrook) put on you, you can’t replicate,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Chris Featherling said. “They do a great job, as a coaching staff they do a great job putting pressure on you and making things hard on you.”

The Knights went nearly four minutes without scoring and trailed 13-0 before Newton scored inside. Post’s long three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer got the hosts within 27-7, but Anderson’s three extended the Bolingbrook lead to 43-13 with 37 seconds remaining in the first half.

“It’s a good learning experience for our girls,” Featherling said. “They battled, they played hard, I couldn’t ask for any more. We worked on a game plan for this game but they came out and gave it to us from the beginning.

“Like I said, their pressure is hard to replicate,” he added. “We struggled turning the ball over. We talked about turnovers and not giving up points in the paint, but we gave up a lot of them. When that happens, it’s usually not a good formula for success.”

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