This Time, Trinity Girls Fend Off Bartlett

The Trinity girls basketball team did not let history repeat itself.

When the Blazers saw Bartlett chop their second-half lead from 18 to 3, they stopped the bleeding this time, scoring the final 5 points of the game to hang on for a 62-54 victory in the Class 4A York sectional semifinals Tuesday night in Elmhurst.

Back on Nov. 23, Bartlett came from behind in the second half to beat Trinity 61-50 in the Naperville Central/Benet Tip-Off Tournament.

“We really stuck together at the end of the game,” Trinity junior forward Megan Podkowa said. “We made it through their run. That was the biggest difference from the last game. I was like, ‘Girls, calm down. They’re coming back at us. We’ve had this experience before. Now we know what to do.’ ”

It didn’t look like the Blazers (28-4) would have cause to worry when a Podkowa inside move produced a bucket that put them ahead 47-29 late in the third quarter.

However, Bartlett (28-2) closed the gap to 8 in the fourth quarter before Trinity pushed its lead back to 12 with just under four minutes left. The Hawks made another desperate run, reeling off an 11-2 run to pull within 57-54 on Janessa Baker’s drive with 1:32 remaining.

From there, though, Trinity made five of six free throws while holding Bartlett scoreless. Sophomore guard Taylor Nazon helped halt the Hawks’ momentum by hitting two free throws with 1:02 left to push the Blazers ahead 59-54.

“We got a little crazy there for awhile, but Taylor Nazon made two key free throws,” Stritzel said. “Then we got a stop and I felt much better after that.”

“They put the press on us and we lost our composure momentarily, but coach called timeout and we kind of worked it through and regained it,” Nazon said. “Making those free throws really helped.”

Divinity Brown hit a pair of free throws with 47 remaining to put Trinity up 61-54. Podkowa added a free throw with 23 seconds to go.

“We gave it a (heck) of a try, that’s for sure,” Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. “We just got off to such a god-awful start. They were hotter than anything.”

The Blazers, who have often been a slow-starting team this season, made nine of their first 10 shots, including three three-pointers. A 19-3 run gave them a 24-7 lead late in the opening quarter.

“I don’t think we’ve ever shot like that in our lives,” Podkowa marveled.

Trinity’s Alyssa Dengler scored all 10 of her points during the explosive start. The junior forward received “a special shout-out” from her coach.

“Not only did Alyssa play that defense that she normally does, but she actually scored for us,” Stritzel said. “She got us going early offensive-wise and that was just a tremendous spark for us.”

Podkowa led Trinity with 16 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals. Nazon and senior guard Taricka Linzy each finished with 14 points, many of those coming on drives, for the winners.

“We’ve played, I believe, by far the toughest schedule in the state,” Stritzel said. “We’ve seen all sorts of environments and I knew our kids would be ready against a great team. I thought our depth won it for us tonight.”

Wisconsin recruit Jacki Gulczynski powered Bartlett with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Trinity advances to Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. sectional final against Proviso East (29-2). The teams met on Dec. 28 in the Suburban Holiday Showcase at Niles West. Trinity won 64-60.

“It’ll be a great game,” Podkowa said. “The last time we played them it was close so I can only imagine the same thing.”