Niles West Girls Tumble To Bolingbrook

VILLA PARK—While Monday’s final McDonald’s Shootout contest was supposed to be about Bolingbrook’s Morgan Tuck and Niles West’s Jewell Loyd, Lady Raider Nia Moore perhaps had the most impressive game.

The Raiders’ senior forward scored a career-high 15 points as Bolingbrook rolled over the Wolves 67-36 on Monday.

Moore, an Illinois recruit who has been working on her scoring this season, missed her first three shots in the first half. In the second half, she was 5-of-6 from the field and stayed aggressive in the post to force Niles West (16-6) to defend someone else besides Tuck.

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“At halftime in the locker room, my coaches and teammates told me to keep my head up and stay focused and they would look for me,” said Moore, who also had eight rebounds and four blocks. “My coaches tell me when I have an open look, post the ball up, get my arms up and use the backboard.”

Tuck did it again, posting a game-high 26 points, and outscored Loyd, a Notre Dame recruit who collected 23 points. Both players are battling to be considered Illinois’ best player.

“That’s what people do,” said Tuck, referring to the pre-game hype. “You just have to come out and play. It’s not just a one-on-one game with me and (Loyd). We have to come out and play as a team.”

The Lady Raiders (13-1) sprinted on a 21-4 run to gain a 25-8 first-quarter advantage while holding Loyd to 1-of-4 shooting. Bolingbrook senior guard/forward DeLacy Anderson had the difficult assignment of guarding Loyd, who averages more than 30 points a game.

“I learned I have to use my length to my advantage,” said Anderson, who helped limit Loyd to 6-of-19 shooting. “Knowing she’s really quick, we worked on staying in front of the dribbler in practice and just moving my feet well.”

Niles West then clogged the paint in the second quarter to prevent Tuck from scoring, as she had 12 first-quarter points. It worked, and the Wolves closed the gap to 34-23 at the half.

“We were a bit shocked at the beginning, so I was trying to get everyone relaxed and I kind of lost my game a bit,” said Loyd, who had 13 second-quarter points. “In the second quarter, I was more relaxed and found a little rhythm.”

The rally didn’t last long, as Moore made two quick layups to spark an 8-0 run third-quarter run that put the game away.

“I was proud of our effort today,” Bolingbrook head coach Anthony Smith said. “We have to get into better shape. We had a great first and third quarter, but we got a little tired in the second and fourth quarter. I hope in the future, we could put together a full game.”

Bolingbrook outshot Niles West 41.3 to 30 percent from the field and also forced the Wolves into 26 turnovers. The Raiders also won the rebounding battle 40-27.

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