Bolingbrook Defense Stifles Kit Girls

Bolingbrook’s girls basketball program became famous --- and notorious --- back when Evanston head coach Brittanny Johnson was lighting it up during her high school days at Fenwick.

The Raiders, aided by a sometimes controversial number of transfer players, captured four Illinois High School Association state championships between 2006 and 2011 and established themselves as one of the elite programs in the state.

The current program got a boost when the No. 1 player in the state --- Trinity Jones --- moved in last month. But what the Raiders probably don’t get enough credit for is the way they defend --- all the time.

In-your-face, man-to-man defense that resulted in 10 blocked shots and 25 forced turnovers helped the Raiders hand Evanston a 60-41 defeat Saturday afternoon.

Hardly able to get off a field goal attempt, and never really able to get into their offense versus Bolingbrook’s aggressive waves of defenders, the Wildkits slipped to 1-1 on the season despite Zuri Ransom’s game-high 21 points.

Jones topped the Raiders with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 sophomore, regarded as the “next Candace Parker” before leaving Naperville Central, was backed by Yahaira Bueno’s 15 points and 10 from Angelina Smith.

ETHS stayed with the host team through the first half, trailing only 28-22 at the intermission as Ransom netted 17 points. But the senior standout only managed one bucket --- a 3-pointer when the game was no longer in doubt --- in the second half and she was the only Wildkit to finish in double figures.

Next best for the visitors, who shot just 30 percent from the field, were Arianna Milam-Pryor with 9 points and Kailey Starks with 7.

“They really do disrupt you with their defense,” said Johnson. “They do a good job of funneling you to where they want you, and they’re long and athletic and that’s what leads to all those blocked shots. That was a huge issue for us in the third quarter.

“We don’t really have a true point guard and we really couldn’t get into our offense today. Bolingbrook does a really good job of taking away that initial pass and we couldn’t get our offense started. We just lacked the discipline we needed to compete with a team like that, but we’ll get there at some point.

“I think fatigue set in for Zuri (6-of-18 from the field, 1-for-7 in the second half). We need to run our stuff better when teams are trying to disrupt us like that. But Bolingbrook’s entire starting lineup is going to play basketball in college, and it’s hard for us to match up with a team like that.”

Evanston never led in the contest. But Ransom’s hot hand, which included 3 three-point baskets, kept the Raiders from pulling away until the second half.

The Raiders, who were making their season debut, outscored ETHS 14-7 in the third quarter and never looked back.