Girls Basketball: Quick Start Lifts Andrew Over Tinley Park

The Skinny: In rolling to a 61-45 home victory Monday night, Andrew moved the ball up the court quickly to score several easy baskets early. The Thunderbolts turned a 6-4 deficit into a 14-6 lead thanks to a 10-0 run, highlighted by a putback from Nicole Botich with 2:58 left in the opening quarter. Tinley Park tried to rally, trailing 32-22 at halftime, but the Titans couldn't close the deficit to less than eight points in the second half. The five starters for the Thunderbolts each scored eight points or more.

Patch’s MVP: Andrew's Nicole Botich scored a game-high 16 points and collected a game-high 17 rebounds. The senior started strong, with eight points and seven rebounds in the first quarter.

Key Stats: Both teams had trouble maintaining possession, combining for 45 turnovers, but it was Andrew that converted more of the turnovers into easy buckets. Andrew also took advantage of second-chance points, out-rebounding the Titans 41-31. Tinley Park converted only five of 14 free throws.

Andrew Leaders: Nicole Botich (16 points, 17 rebounds), Catherine Foley (12 points), Tiana Karopulos (10 points, 5 rebounds), Liz Jendra (9 points, 6 rebounds).

Tinley Park Leaders: Simona Sidaugaite (11 points, 5 rebounds), Caitlin Sudduth (10 points), Diamond Beatty (8 points), Cristina Delvecchio (8 points, 6 rebounds).

Quotable I: Andrew's Nicole Botich on winning the Tinley Park rivalry game: "We're the only two schools in Tinley, so of course we want to get the better of them. It's always a big game between us."

Quotable II: Andrew coach Bob Matz on his team's focus: "When you come off a big win (over Sandburg), this is an easy game for a letdown. Physically, they put a lot of effort forward, but mentally we weren't all there tonight. We didn't have the same sharpness, but the effort hung through as we went through some mental lapses."

Quotable III: Tinley Park coach Jason Becker on his team yielding 23 points in the first eight minutes: "They got off to a big start and they finished the way they started. I felt we were a bit intimidated and they made us do what they wanted to do."

Team Records: Andrew is 4-1 and Tinley Park is 3-6.

What’s Next: Tinley Park is back at it tonight, traveling to Evergreen Park for a 6:30 tip. Andrew will enjoy the home cooking again on Thursday as it welcomes Thornton at 7 p.m., but first the T-bolts will travel to Crete for a game tonight that was a late addition to the schedule.