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newlenoxpatriotdaily.com sports
the new lenox patriot | January 30, 2020 | 35
Girls Basketball
Another big win, another milestone for LW West
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
The perception of the
Lincoln-Way West girls
basketball team has been
that the Warriors have a
bunch of 3-point shooters
and when it comes time to
bang down low in a tough,
physical game, they won’t
be ready for that.
It’s time for a new perception.
Brianna Wooldridge
scored seven of her 14
points in the fourth quarter
and every point that the
Warriors scored in the final
eight minutes came on
a rebound, layup or free
throw as they rallied past
Fenwick 56-49 in the 30th
Annual Subway Classic
Coach Kipp’s Hoopfest
on Jan. 20 at Willowbrook
High School.
The Gugliuzza sisters
combined for 38 points as
freshman Ava (14 points)
led the way, while junior
Tara (12 points) and senior
Taylor (12 points)
also contributed.
West reached the 20-
win mark for the sixth
straight season. The Warriors,
who improved to
21-2 with a 63-25 win
over Bradley-Bourbonnais
on Thursday, Jan. 23,
have six regular season
games left.
A pair of those are
against Evanston - at noon
Saturday, Feb. 1, in New
Lenox - and Montini - at
6:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Feb. 5, in Lombard - two
of the top-ranked teams
in the state. But Fenwick
was also ranked in the Top
10, and the Warriors certainly
didn’t back down
from them.
“It was a little rough in
the beginning because I
was in my own head,” said
Wooldridge, who also had
a game-high 11 rebounds.
“But I played through it.
We also have an inside
presence and we know
when to pass it in and out.”
Fenwick (19-6) had outscored
the Warriors 20-12
in the third quarter to grab
a 44-40 lead heading into
the final period. West,
however, held the Friars to
five fourth-quarter points.
“This is part of the reason
we’ve elevated our
schedule,” West coach
Ryan White said. “We
had four girls with balanced
scoring and Bri
[Wooldridge] stepped
up and had a very nice
game.”
A rebound basket by
sophomore post player
Evan Pitman a minute into
the fourth quarter pulled
the Warriors within two.
Tara Gugliuzza followed
with a layup to tie the
game, and a 3-point play
by Wooldridge at the 5:45
mark put West up for good.
“I was really happy
that I made that one,”
Wooldridge said. “I
wasn’t finishing a lot of
my layups at the beginning.
I knew if I didn’t
make layups I normally
make we weren’t going
to have an easy time with
this team.”
Senior guard Sydney
Swanberg took a nice feed
from Tara Gugliuzza and
scored on a layup for a
54-49 lead with 56 seconds
to play. Fittingly,
Wooldridge capped off
the scoring on a rebound
basket with 17 seconds
left that clinched it.
“Coach White said we
have to start driving and
get layups,” Tara said.
“Whenever the drive is
open, we know we can do
that. It feels really good
knowing we can beat a
big, strong team like this.”
Fenwick found the
range for nine baskets
from downtown in the
game, while the Warriors
had seven.
But all that mattered, in
the end, was that West had
the win.
“In the fourth quarter, I
knew that if I didn’t step
up that their posts were
going to step up and they
were going to score,”
Wooldridge said. “I
couldn’t let that happen.
“I wanted us to win.
This was a big game for
us against a ranked team.
We have to show that we
can play with anyone.”
Tara hits 1,000
Exactly a week after her
older sister, Taylor, passed
the 2,000-point mark for
her career, Tara Gugliuzza
hit 1,000 in the win over
Bradley-Bourbonnais.
She led the Warriors
with 18 points.
Wooldridge added 15, and
Pittman scored 10.
Roundup
Hutchinson’s heroics lift Knights past Stagg
2
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
With the game on the
line in the final minute,
Lincoln-Way Central junior
guard Megan Hutchinson
expected to pass the
ball. She did not hesitate,
though, when she saw a different
opportunity.
Hutchinson’s basket on
a drive put the Knights
ahead with 28 seconds left
and lifted them to a 46-43
SouthWest Suburban Red
win over Stagg on Thursday,
Jan. 23, in New Lenox.
“That play was not really
meant for me,” Hutchinson
said. “It was kind of meant
for Haley [Stoklosa] or Regan
[LoConte]. Knowing
there were only 30 seconds
left and the girl was guarding
my really well, I knew I
could drive.
“The play before, she
blocked me, so I had to get
back at her. It was kind of
a lucky shot, if I would say
so myself, but also I practice
that shot, so I wasn’t
surprised it went in.”
The clutch score broke a
43-43 tie. Hutchinson added
a free throw with three
seconds left.
LoConte scored 17
points to lead the Knights
(14-11, 3-1). Hutchinson
finished with 11 points and
eight rebounds, and Stoklosa
had eight points and
five rebounds.
LW West dance team wins
sectional title; LW Central,
Providence also statebound
Lincoln-Way West’s
competitive dance team
won the Class 2A title at the
Normal Sectional on Saturday,
Jan. 26.
The Warriors’ score of
88 edged Dunlap’s 86.9. It
was West’s fourth sectional
title and first in three years.
Lincoln-Way Central
(86.87) finished fourth in
the 3A competition won by
Minooka (97.67). Providence
(85.1) took third in
the 1A Geneva Sectional,
which was won by Joliet
Catholic (93.78).
The state meet is set for
Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday,
Feb. 1, at Grossinger
Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Providence boys basketball
has a 2-1 week
Jack Ruddy led the
way with 17 points as the
Celtics (9-13, 3-7) beat
Marmion 49-40 on Friday,
Jan. 25. Lucas Porto added
10 points and four blocks.
Providence beat St. Francis
de Sales 73-44 on Jan.
20 and fell 44-31 to Nazareth
on Jan. 22.
Celtics girls split a pair of
games
Lauren Knight had a
pair of 20-point games for
Providence (20-6, 6-1),
which beat DePaul Prep
61-25 on Jan. 21 and fell
47-44 to Resurrection on
Thursday, Jan. 23.
Ashley Raymer
added 14 points in
the win over DePaul.
Lincoln-Way Central’s Haley Stoloka drives to the
basket during the Knights’ 46-43 win over Stagg on Jan.
23. STEVE MILLAR/22nd century media
Providence hockey top seed
for Kennedy Cup
The Celtics finished the
regular season atop the
Chicago Catholic League
Hockey standings with an
18-2 record and are the top
seed for the Kennedy Cup
playoffs. Providence will
play eight-seeded Mount
Carmel in a best-of-three
series, starting Thursday,
Jan. 30, at Orbit Ice Arena
in Palatine.