Class 4A Girls Basketball: Angelina Smith takes over in second half to lead Bolingbrook past H-F for sectional title

ROMEOVILLE – During the course of the regular season, Bolingbrook had lost just one game to a team from Illinois.

The Raiders got a chance to atone for that defeat Thursday in the championship game of the Class 4A Romeoville Sectional, taking on Homewood-Flossmoor.

Junior guard Angelina Smith carried the team on her back and dominated in the second half, scoring 16 of her game-high 25 points after halftime en route to a 63-47 win, sending the Raiders (27-3) to Monday’s Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional, where they will face O’Fallon, a 60-42 winner over Normal Community.

After trailing 25-24 at halftime, Bolingbrook made a concerted effort to put the ball in Smith’s hands, and she delivered.

H-F held a 29-27 lead after a basket by Alyssa Latham (20 points, 8 rebounds) before Smith drove the lane for back-to-back baskets, assisted on a bucket by Persais Williams (11 points) and capped a 9-0 run with a three-point play. Latham ended the run with a pair of free throws, but Yahaira Bueno (16 points) scored in the lane, then Smith drove and kicked it out to Williams for a 3-pointer and a 41-31 Bolingbrook lead.

“We were looking to get the ball in Angie’s hands,” Bolingbrook coach Chris Smith said. “We were in the triangle, and that would draw Alyssa [Latham] out to the perimeter and let Angie drive. And, if Alyssa stayed in the middle, Angie could kick it out.

“It comes down to big-time players making big plays in big games, and Angie is a big-time player.”

Smith spent most of the fourth quarter dribbling away from H-F pressure, which allowed her to find Bueno on the other side of the floor with a clear lane to the basket. Bueno capitalized, scoring eight of her 16 points in the fourth quarter.

It is the second straight season that the Raiders have beaten H-F for the sectional title. Last year, they continued on and finished third in the state.

“This one is so special,” Smith said. “This group of juniors has been waiting our turn. It’s so fun to do this with the girls that I have been playing with since sixth grade. We’ve been working since June. We have put a lot of faith in Coach Smith, and he put a lot of faith in us.

“We said at halftime that we wanted to put them in a hole they couldn’t dig out of, and we were able to do that.”

Not only did Bueno put in key baskets in the fourth quarter, she hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter that kept the Raiders in the game.

“It felt good to see the ball go through the net,” she said. “I didn’t shoot well last game, so to get a couple to go in early felt really good.

“It was nice when Angie was dribbling and they were chasing her. I had the whole side of the floor to myself. We wanted to run time off the clock, but if we had an open shot, we wanted to take it. I had a lot of open shots.

“This one feels a lot better than last year.”

Nearly lost in the scoring production of Smith and Bueno was the defensive work done by Williams on the 6-foot-2 Latham. Latham finished with 20 points, but she had to work hard for every one, thanks to the defense by Williams.

“We wanted Persais to stay in front of Alyssa,” Chris Smith said. “She was able to use her athletic ability to stay right with her, and she did a great job.

“We had a lot of girls contribute tonight. Everyone that saw the floor did a good job, and that’s what we needed. We felt if we could put 60 points on the board, we would have a good chance with the way we play defense.”