Bolingbrook’s pressure gets the best of Joliet West

BOLINGBROOK — A word to the wise for those scheduled to go up against the Bolingbrook girls basketball team: Work on playing against defensive pressure.

The Raiders' suffocating defense was on display again Thursday night in a 64-41 Southwest Prairie Conference victory over Joliet West.

Bolingbrook (15-8, 7-0) applied full-court, man-to-man pressure from the start, and forced Joliet West (3-16, 1-6) into 19 turnovers in the first half alone.

Several of those turnovers turned into transition baskets at the other end of the floor, with Sydney Dodd taking the most advantage.

The 5-foot-7 sophomore scored all 18 of her points in the first half before leaving the game late in the half after hurting her knee on a rebound. Dodd started the second half, but was only on the floor for a short time before Bolingbrook coach Chris Smith pulled her for good.

“Sydney banged her knee on the floor coming down from a rebound,” Smith said. “She started the second half, but with the game the way it was, it was best to just have her sit the rest of the way. She was cleared by the trainers and wanted to play, but I felt it was best to rest her.”

In Dodd’s absence, fellow sophomore Skylar Wakefield stepped to the fore. Wakefield scored eight of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to help thwart a late West rally and she also finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.

“We try to build off of our defense,” Wakefield said. “The coaches stress defense and rebounding all the time. Those are effort plays, and they are always saying, ‘Effort, effort, effort.’

“Everyone on the team has bought into that and we all go out there and play hard. We are pretty young after losing a lot of seniors from last year’s team. We try to use our defense to create offense. A lot of younger players this year are getting a lot of experience and development.”

Midway through the first quarter, Smith sent in a fresh crew of players and they increased the lead until the starters returned midway through the second.

“We didn’t come out with a lot of energy tonight,” Smith said. “So, I put the second unit in and they did a good job. It was a good game for us to get a lot of girls some playing time and experience for later in the season when we need them.”

Bolingbrook led 21-11 after one quarter and Joliet West played them even through the first half of the second. The Raiders led 31-19 midway through the second, but went on an 8-2 spurt to close the quarter and take a 39-21 lead into halftime.

The Tigers also used their bench liberally, and Jada Thompson turned in a strong performance with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Khiana Tyler scored seven points for West, while Natalie Clemente and Gabrielle Gavin both scored six.

“We had a few too many turnovers that cost us,” West coach Breanna Blackmon said. “Jada did a real good job of cleaning up the glass. That’s why I had her start the second half.”

Bolingbrook went ahead 44-25 midway through the third before West outscored them 6-3 the rest of the quarter. The Tigers continued their comeback attempt in the fourth, at one point drawing to 50-39 before the Raiders closed the game on a 14-2 run, sparked by eight points from Wakefield.

“Skylar Wakefield played well,” Smith said. “And, Sydney was having a great game before she got hurt. It was a good game overall for us. We only had one player that didn’t score and we played real good defense.”

Blackmon was happy with how her team didn’t hang their heads and go through the motions in the second half.

“We hung in there real well,” she said. “We just ran out of gas at the end. Going to a 2-3 zone in the second half helped us with their drives to the basket.

“Coming back in the fourth quarter to get it to 11 proves the potential of this team. They are learning to trust and communicate with each other. Bolingbrook likes to play at a fast pace and we did better with it as the game went on.”