Bolingbrook built an elite girls basketball program in the state of Illinois based on toughness and tenacity on defense, and that’s why Evanston head coach Brittanny Johnson wants the Raiders on her schedule every year.
And even a loss to the Raiders on Saturday afternoon at Beardsley Gymnasium didn’t fall into the “be careful what you wish for” category.
The only regrets for the Wildkits? They turned the ball over a whopping 35 times and suffered a scoreless drought of three and a half minutes in the fourth quarter of a 54-49 defeat that dropped ETHS to 1-1 on the season.
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Evanston closed the gap to 48-44 on Brielle Rosemond’s short baseline jumper with 4:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, then missed seven straight field goal attempts and didn’t score again until the game was out of reach.
So why was Johnson able to smile after the season’s first defeat? Maybe because now she’s got the attention of a young squad that featured a sophomore (Payton King) and a freshman (Ella Martin) in the backcourt who suffered through most of those turnovers against the relentless Bolingbrook defenders.
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The majority of those turnovers came on passes into the teeth of the Raider defense.
“They never believe me when I tell them what it’s like to play against teams like that,” said Johnson. “The one thing I hate is to be out-toughed in a game, and we were out-toughed today. We have very little experience with our ballhandlers and I knew that, from a pressure standpoint, this would be so different for them.
“We allowed their physicality to take us out of the game. We have to be tougher. Bolingbrook is a team I love to open the season against. We’ve only beaten them once but playing Bolingbrook over the past three years has been good for us. We’ve grown from it every year and it’s gotten us ready for our tough schedule ahead.
“They needed that reality check.”
The hosts turned the ball over 12 times in the first quarter, fell behind 16-7 and never could get closer than four points. ETHS did claw its way back to within 28-24 at halftime behind Jayla Warren (19 points) and King (11 points, 8 rebounds), but every time the Wildkits seemed ready to seize the momentum, the Raiders responded with clutch baskets to hold them at bay.
Bolingbrook was paced by sophomore Skylar Wakefield with a game-high 20 points in their season debut. Next best for the winners was foul-plagued Kennedy Wiliams with 9.
“I didn’t like the fact that they punched us in the mouth (in the first quarter). I didn’t think we punched them back, and that’s what I was looking for from our young kids,” Johnson noted. “There were some promising moments for us out there, but I don’t like to be out-toughed. Bolingbrook is tough and they’re always in your face. It’s just good that this happened to us in November.
“This game showed me that we ARE tough --- just not tough enough. To me, that’s exciting because I can teach them to be tougher.”
Down 46-38 to start the fourth quarter, the Kits rallied on Martin’s bank shot, Warren’s basket underneath and the aforementioned bucket by Rosemond. Then came those seven straight misses as the hosts only connected on 5-of-14 shots from the floor in the final period.
“We had players who deferred out there, who didn’t want to shoot,” the ETHS coach added. “We lost our go-to players from last year (to graduation) and right now our leadership is lacking. They’re just not confident enough to step up and make a play. I’m excited to see who will emerge into that role going forward. We need someone to take us over the edge and get it done when we need a play.”
The two teams consented to play with a 35-second shot clock in effect but only one violation --- against Bolingbrook in the first quarter --- took place in the up-tempo contest.
Johnson is in favor of the new rule that will be put into effect for Illinois high schools and the hardware already exists in Beardsley Gym.
“I know not many girls coaches want it, but I do,” she said. “That’s really so much time that it shouldn’t make a difference, and it’s good to play at a faster pace. We’re going to play four more times with a clock this year (against Chicago Mather, St. Laurence and at shootout events hosted by Kenwood and Fremd) and I’ve sent out emails about it to other coaches we play.”
Evanston resumes action next Saturday (Nov. 30) at the Whitney Young Shootout against Butler Prep.
