Rogers Wins POTW Award, Titans Smash Vikings

GLENVIEW — When Sidney Rogers pulled up just inside of half-court in the final seconds of the first quarter and calmly sank a 40-plus footer, her expression didn’t change. It was all business.

Rogers, recently named CSL South Player of The Year, scored 11 of her 16 in the first quarter of the Titans’ 61-32 regional semifinal win over Niles North.

“She’s just so steady, and if you don’t guard her, it’s over,” Glenbrook South coach Scott Nemecek said. “In this league, there’s several girls who could be player of the year and we would not argue with any of the other ones… It’s really a tribute to Sidney to be in that class, and to be awarded that, certainly appreciative of the other coaches who recognized that.”

Gina Davorija kept her foot on the pedal, scoring a game-high 20 points. She was also named all-conference. Faith Oswald earned the Sportsmanship Award for the team.

It was a physical contest, with both teams taking some bumps.

Christina Korompilas and Anna Rosenberger were battling for rebounds, and even in falling behind big, the Vikings fought non-stop for rebounds.

“(The) more physical the game the more amped up we are,” Korompilas said. “We go in there with power and energy we know who we are. There’s always a time and a place for adversity, and we give it all we got. We play for the name on our jerseys and who we represent. Each one of us represents the other four on the court.”

The victory didn’t come without some trouble, as junior Titan Chloe Gonzalez sustained a lower leg injury in the first quarter, going down in visible pain. Gonzalez missed nearly a month of action right after the start of 2023 due to a previous leg injury. She did not return to action. In the second half, guard Paige Simon also appeared to suffer a less-sever lower leg injury, and sported a brace like the one Gonzalez wore on the sideline.

Niles North was led by junior Briana Bolt, who muscled her way through the Titans early in the game, scoring 7 of her team’s first 10 points. She had a team-high 17 points.

Bolt scored two buckets late in the first half, including one on a nifty spin move in the post.

But the Vikings couldn’t slow the Titans, as GBS went on a 13-1 run to end the half. The combination of a press and trapping half-court defensive zone kept the Vikings from getting into any sort of rhythm.

“Once we got a basket… we could get the press going,” Nemecek said. ‘We have very high IQ, fast, hard-working players so once we could get that ball popping around, get a turnover get a tip, run the floor…it creates a bit of a downhill effect for us.”

Rogers, at the front of that press and harassing zone, makes things difficult aplenty on opposing offenses.

“She’s tremendous on defense,” Nemecek said. “She does multiple things on defense. Sometimes you put her on the best player. Sometimes you put her on somebody else to go help elsewhere. She’s tied for first in charges. She has a ton of assists. There’s several games where she’s had 7 assists and n turnovers. She’s sort of like a point guard-shooting guard-off guard.”

Paige Simon contributed 7 points for GBS.

The Titans were also able to go well into their bench, with reserves seeing action in both halves.

“I was impressed with what they did out there,” Nemecek said. “They competed against some of their top girls out there. It’s fun when you’re hosting and everyone can get in the game.”

The Titans will host New Trier Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in a regional title game. GBS has defeated New Trier on Jan. 27 (70-55), and Dec. 9 (33-24). The Trevians defeated Elk Grove Tuesday.

“We have played them twice before in conference games, but no excuse, we have to go in there, work hard, watch film,” Korompilas said.

*Correction: Briana Bolt is a junior.

(This submission is made possible due to the donations of Glenbrook South girls basketball supporters.)