Girls basketball: Jasmine Jones leads Bolingbrook past Homewood-Flossmoor

BOLINGBROOK – Bolingbrook coach Chris Smith expected a physical game when his Raiders took on Southwest Suburban Blue rival Homewood-Flossmoor on Thursday night.

He got what he expected as both teams used tight, physical man-to-man defense to thwart the other team’s offensive plans.

In the end, a balanced Bolingbrook attack led the Raiders to a 53-41 victory.

Bolingbrook, ranked No. 3 in the latest Illinois Class 4A Associated Press poll, was playing without sophomore standout Trinity Jones. Senior Jasmine Jones, however, came up big with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots to help fuel the victory.

Jasmine Jones tore her meniscus over the summer and has gradually been working her way back to full strength. And whenever it seemed like Bolingbrook (21-2, 6-0), which clinched the SWSC Blue title, needed a basket the most, the ball found its way to her.

Midway through the third quarter, Homewood-Flossmoor took its first lead of the night at 29-27 on a basket by Jemiyah McDonald. Jones, normally a post player, followed that with a 3-pointer to put Bolingbrook back in the lead for good at 30-29. The basket started a 12-0 Bolingbrook spurt that ended with another 3-pointer by Jones.

“That’s the most minutes Jasmine has played all year,” Smith said. “She had a huge night. When she’s healthy, she is a super talented player and she is getting healthier every day. Her 3-point shot hasn’t been as good so far this year because of her injury, but she can be one of our best 3-point shooters.

“A 3-pointer is such a big momentum builder. If we can make four or five more 3-pointers than the other team, then that’s 12-15 points they have to make up on 2-point shots.”

Jones said she and her teammates weren’t concerned when the Vikings took the lead.

“We weren’t worried,” she said. “It just put it in our minds that we had to get it together.”

The Raiders were balanced with their scoring. DePaul-bound Angelina Smith led the way with 13 points, followed by Jones with 12 and sophomore Ciyah Thomas with 10. Yahaira Bueno and Persais Williams each scored nine.

“We like to play that way,” Jones said about the scoring balance. “Everyone contributes, and if a team tries to shut one player down there are four others that can get it done. It makes the game fun to play when you can see everyone succeed like that.”

In the early going, it was Thomas who got the Raiders off to a quick start, scoring six points in the first quarter to help build a 15-10 lead at the end of the quarter. H-F played even with the Raiders in the second quarter and Bolingbrook took a 23-18 lead into halftime.

The Vikings’ 9-0 run early in the third gave them their only lead before Bolingbrook regained control. Williams, who was in foul trouble early, scored all nine of her points in the second half for the Raiders, while Smith was the beneficiary of several fast breaks keyed by Raider rebounds.

“We like to rebound and get the ball out quick for easy baskets,” Jones said. “It keeps the other team from getting points, and it gives us points.

“This is the most minutes I have played all year. I feel 100% ready to go to state. We want to get back to state and win a title this year.”

Chris Smith also liked seeing the balance in the Raiders’ scoresheet.

“This was a team win, for sure,” he said. “It could have been by more. We missed some layups, and we had too many unforced turnovers. Give credit to a lot of our turnovers to them because they played good defense, but we did make some that we weren’t forced into.

“Having Persais in foul trouble didn’t help us, but Ciyah Thomas had a terrific night. She is such a good athlete, and she has hardly scratched the surface of her potential.”