Revenge, but no league title

Brookfield secured second place in the league after Lakeview clinched first.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- After scoring just four points in a loss to Champion in late January, Brookfield sophomore Morgan Bonekovic didn't need any extra motivation for Thursday's rematch.
She got it anyway.
"I cut out an article in the paper [the day after the Champion game] that said they had shut me down," Bonekovic said. "I used it as motivation for tonight, to score more and to work harder."
Let it be known in this article that the visiting Flashes did not shut her down this time. Bonekovic had game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (13) as the Warriors won 40-36.
Unfortunately for Brookfield, the loss to Champion cost them a share of the Trumbull Athletic Conference title, something the Warriors haven't won since the 1995-96 season. Lakeview clinched the title outright with a win over Liberty on Thursday.
Winning crew
"We want to bring it back," said Brookfield coach Shawn Hammond, who started three sophomores, a junior and a senior on Thursday. "This group of sophomores, they've won at every level."
Bonekovic did most of her damage in the second and third quarters, compiling 11 points and 11 rebounds over that stretch against a myriad of defenses. In the first meeting, the Flashes didn't shut down Bonekovic so much as they confused her with a box-and-1 defense.
"I'd never seen that before," she said. "[But] the last time we played, we didn't bring enough intensity and we weren't prepared to play."
Champion ran a little bit of box-and-one on Thursday, but it also switched from a 1-2-2 zone to a man-to-man defense that fronted Bonekovic in the post. It got a little confusing at times for the Warriors' offense, but they figured it out.
"We knew they were going to try some different things," Hammond said. "By halftime, we sort of knew the when, where and what."
Other scorers
Sophomore Kelly Jones added eight points and sophomore Lauren Gentile had seven points, four rebounds and three assists in the win.
The Warriors (16-4, 11-3) took their biggest lead, 28-22, entering the fourth quarter, but the Flashes cut the deficit to one several times in the final minutes. The last came with 42 seconds left when Flashes junior Elizabeth Ghindia made the second of two free throws to cut the deficit to 35-34.
But Brookfield junior Kari Haywood made two free throws and Bonekovic made one to build a four-point lead (38-34) with 15 seconds left.
Then, in the closing seconds, Bonekovic stripped Champion freshman Erika Stevens to all but end the suspense. Jones added two more free throws and Champion's Ashley Haas hit a basket at the buzzer to close out the scoring.
"I felt like we didn't lose tonight -- we got beat and I can live with that," Champion coach Jeff Thompson said. "We gave our best effort."
Senior Jaclyn Carpenter led the Flashes (12-8, 10-4) with 14 points, three assists and two steals, while Stevens had nine points, Haas had eight rebounds and Ghindia had seven rebounds.
"After we lost to Lakeview last week, we knew our league title hopes were over," said Thompson, who will return three starters next season. "We were playing for second place. And second place in the TAC is not a bad thing."
Brookfield knows that, too. And with such a young core, the Warriors have a bright future.
"I know I'm just a sophomore, but the older players have made me feel comfortable," Bonekovic said. "I feel like I'm one of the leaders on this team."
scalzo@vindy.com