Brookfield holds off Lakeview, 54-47

The Warriors moved into a tie with the Bulldogs for the top spot in the TAC.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- After trailing for all but the first few minutes, Lakeview High pulled to within seven points of Brookfield, 54-47, midway through the fourth quarter of Monday's Trumbull Athletic Conference girls basketball game.
Then, Brookfield's Morgan Bonekovic stole the ball at halfcourt, dribbled to within 6 feet of the basket and put the nail in the coffin for the Bulldogs with 4:09 remaining.
Lakeview wasn't able to recover, and Brookfield went on to post a 64-53 victory, moving into a tie for the TAC lead. Both teams are 8-2 in the conference.
Avenged earlier defeat
It was a different outcome from the first meeting in Cortland where Lakeview won, 59-46.
"We lacked intensity over there," third-year coach Shawn Hammond said of the Warriors' defeat then. "We didn't come out ready to play. Plus, we played a little more zone last time."
On Monday, the Warriors, knowing that they were getting an extra player back in Lauren Gentile, played more man-to-man defense.
"We played a lot more man, like our full-court man, pretty much the whole game tonight," Hammond said. "I think that helps a lot, especially when you have a big girl down at the end [Bonekovic] who can block some shots to start the transition. We can let our guards go play out front."
Forced 20 turnovers
The Warriors forced 20 turnovers and Bonekovic, a sophomore, had two blocks and a game-high 28 points.
"She had a few inches on them and we were getting good passes in there," Hammond said of lobs from point guard Kelly Jones, Kari Haywood and sisters Lauren and Rachel Gentile.
"Bonekovic does a good job of getting herself in position on the block and forcing the double team," said Hammond. "Lakeview got there late a few times and she wasn't too far from the hoop. She just went up -- that's her game. She's pretty good down along the block."
Gentile's return to the lineup helped when Bonekovic got her third foul in the third quarter.
"Morgan had to come out for a couple minutes, but tonight we had some more bodies," said Hammond. "Getting Lauren back helped out a lot in our rotation. We've been playing with 12 people, so the numbers have been tough."
Andrea Gladis was Brookfield's second-best scorer with 14 points, followed by Rachel Gentile's 10. The Warriors (13-3 overall) had a 24-23 edge in rebounding and were credited with 17 assists.
Baker leads Bulldogs
Lakeview (11-4) was led by Jennifer Baker with 14 points. Alynn Martin added 13 points and Chelsea Butler had 11 points. Martin also grabbed seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs were hampered by the loss of Lindsay Whetzel, apparently to a serious knee injury.
"She jump-stopped and heard a pop," coach Courtney Collins said. "We all know what that means," implying an ACL problem.
The game was stopped with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter while a tearful Whetzel was carried to the bench.
"She's a tough kid, but for her to show that sort of emotion, I know it hurt pretty bad," said Collins.
The coach blamed her team's poor shooting percentage as the difference in the game's outcome -- Lakeview was 38 percent (18-of-50) to Brookfield's 56 percent (24-of-41).
"In the first quarter, our shots didn't fall," Collins said. "We dug ourselves a hole and we were trying to get out of it the whole game."
bassetti@vindy.com