Girls Basketball: Guerin runs winning streak to seven straight

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:29AM

The Guerin Prep girls basketball team ran its winning streak to seven games with a 47-36 win over Suburban Christian Conference Gold foe Marian Central Catholic on Jan. 17.

The Gators were scheduled to visit Immaculate Conception Friday night, but the game was postponed due to the snowstorm and rescheduled for Feb. 1.

Guerin (20-3, 6-1) found itself down to the host Hurricanes early on, falling behind 11-4 after one quarter, but the Gators stormed back to take a 22-21 lead by halftime. The defense picked up and helped the team find its shot on the offensive end.

“I think we played really, really well,” said Guerin head coach Johnnie Gage. “(Marian) has a really nice team. I told (the girls), ‘Hey, listen. In order to keep up with Wheaton Academy for the conference lead, it’s up to you guys. If you’d rather finish in second or third, then keep playing the way you’re playing. The only thing I can do is tell you what to do and what you’re doing wrong. If you keep doing the wrong things, then it’s on you.’ ”

The Gators definitely got the message, and turned the game around quickly. Sophomore Becky Bartnicki continued her recent tear. She showed no ill effects from headaches she suffered following a game with Aurora Christian on Jan. 14, as Bartnicki once again led Guerin in scoring with 18 points. Senior captain Kalie DiNunno and sophomore Ketyra Saunders each contributed 10 points in the win.

“Our defense has been the one carrying us,” Gage said. “It’s just a matter of time before our offense kicks back in. Becky has been doing so well that I’ve been thinking about giving her another headache if that’s how she’s going to play with one. Ketyra needs to slow down and take it easy. When she slows down, she plays really well. Sometimes when you’re young, you want to get everything done all at once. I don’t think she’s heard the story that Rome wasn’t built in one day. I’ve got to tell her that story and hope that she listens.”

Rather than having another conference battle Friday night, Guerin got a day off, as the game at I.C. was cancelled in the afternoon because of the heavy snowfall. The players bolted to start their weekend early.

“It was like a dash to the finish line,” Gage said. “I would have said good-bye, but they left too soon. I got the ‘good’ in, but by the time ‘bye’ came out, they were already gone.”

After facing St. Francis in Tuesday’s Suburban Christian Conference crossover game on Jan. 24, the Gators will look to avenge their only conference loss of the season when they travel to West Chicago to lock horns with Wheaton Academy Saturday night. While Gage worries a bit about his team’s position as being the hunter rather than the hunted because of its record, the Gators will be hunting the Warriors nonetheless.

“There’s less pressure when you’re the hunter than when you’re the hunted,” he said. “Everywhere you go, everybody is gunning for you and playing a really good game. We just have to decide what we can do to continue to play the way we’ve been playing. With some of these teams, you’re not going to outscore them. You just have got to shut them down.”