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Ariel Massengale was a four-year starter for Bolingbrook’s girls basketball team, was a national player of the year in 2011 and helped lift the Raiders to three straight state titles as a point guard before embarking on a collegiate career at Tennessee.
It’s a tough act to follow, but so far this season, juniors Kennedy Cattenhead and Kamari Jordan and seniors DeLacy Anderson and Keiera Ray have done a good job running the show offensively for Bolingbrook as the Lady Raiders have raced out to a 9-1 start to the season.
“I think the guard play has been pretty good,” Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith said. “People question it because we lost Ariel and Taylor (Tuck), but we have some pretty good guards. Those kids are competitive kids, too, and they’ve been waiting to play. After Ariel left, they know it’s their time.”
Cattenhead, Anderson and Ray have been on the floor to start most games this season, giving Bolingbrook three capable ball-handlers on the floor at one time. It’s a different scenario than in years past when Massengale was running the offense almost exclusively, but it has been a healthy change for the Raiders.
“I think it makes it easier on the whole team because we don’t have to rely on one person,” senior forward Morgan Tuck said. “There’s more people who can push it up the floor and more people talking, so I think it’s good for our team.”
Cattenhead in particular has seen her role increase from last season to this one, an adjustment that has been even more challenging since she has also changed positions from wing guard to point guard.
“During the summer I really had to wrap my head around being the point guard because before that I never really played point guard too much,” Cattenhead said. “It was tough for me to make the move, but I just have to push through and keep trying to get better.”
Road warriors
Before Christmas, Bolingbrook’s girls basketball team traveled to Phoenix to participate in the Nike Tournament of Champions, a nationwide event that features some of the best high school girls basketball teams from across the country. But the Lady Raiders’ holiday travels didn’t stop there.
On Dec. 29, they were in Cincinnati to play St. Mary of Canada, and the trip was worth it as they came away with a resounding 86-45 win to improve to 9-1 for the season. In the win, Morgan Tuck had 40 points and nine rebounds while Keiera Ray tallied 15 points and four steals.
Good signs
It was just a mid-season tournament, but the Andrew Bowling Bash on Dec. 29 provided some good signs for Bolingbrook’s boys team.
The Raiders finished sixth among 16 teams with a pinfall of 5,361, but with that total they came in well ahead of Plainfield East (5,023), Lincoln-Way West (4,987) and Lincoln-Way Central (4,911), three teams they will face at the Minooka sectional Jan. 21. Oswego, which finished second with 5,654 pins, was the only sectional opponent to top the Raiders at Andrew.
Ariel Massengale was a four-year starter for Bolingbrook’s girls basketball team, was a national player of the year in 2011 and helped lift the Raiders to three straight state titles as a point guard before embarking on a collegiate career at Tennessee.
It’s a tough act to follow, but so far this season, juniors Kennedy Cattenhead and Kamari Jordan and seniors DeLacy Anderson and Keiera Ray have done a good job running the show offensively for Bolingbrook as the Lady Raiders have raced out to a 9-1 start to the season.
“I think the guard play has been pretty good,” Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith said. “People question it because we lost Ariel and Taylor (Tuck), but we have some pretty good guards. Those kids are competitive kids, too, and they’ve been waiting to play. After Ariel left, they know it’s their time.”
Cattenhead, Anderson and Ray have been on the floor to start most games this season, giving Bolingbrook three capable ball-handlers on the floor at one time. It’s a different scenario than in years past when Massengale was running the offense almost exclusively, but it has been a healthy change for the Raiders.
“I think it makes it easier on the whole team because we don’t have to rely on one person,” senior forward Morgan Tuck said. “There’s more people who can push it up the floor and more people talking, so I think it’s good for our team.”
Cattenhead in particular has seen her role increase from last season to this one, an adjustment that has been even more challenging since she has also changed positions from wing guard to point guard.
“During the summer I really had to wrap my head around being the point guard because before that I never really played point guard too much,” Cattenhead said. “It was tough for me to make the move, but I just have to push through and keep trying to get better.”
Road warriors
Before Christmas, Bolingbrook’s girls basketball team traveled to Phoenix to participate in the Nike Tournament of Champions, a nationwide event that features some of the best high school girls basketball teams from across the country. But the Lady Raiders’ holiday travels didn’t stop there.
On Dec. 29, they were in Cincinnati to play St. Mary of Canada, and the trip was worth it as they came away with a resounding 86-45 win to improve to 9-1 for the season. In the win, Morgan Tuck had 40 points and nine rebounds while Keiera Ray tallied 15 points and four steals.
Good signs
It was just a mid-season tournament, but the Andrew Bowling Bash on Dec. 29 provided some good signs for Bolingbrook’s boys team.
The Raiders finished sixth among 16 teams with a pinfall of 5,361, but with that total they came in well ahead of Plainfield East (5,023), Lincoln-Way West (4,987) and Lincoln-Way Central (4,911), three teams they will face at the Minooka sectional Jan. 21. Oswego, which finished second with 5,654 pins, was the only sectional opponent to top the Raiders at Andrew.
