Beset by sluggish play and an injury scare to freshman guard Samantha Bloom, the Riverside-Brookfield High School girls basketball team methodically pulled away from offensively challenged Timothy Christian to claim a 53-33 win last week.

Bloom scored a game-high 14 points (including four three-pointers) before hitting the floor hard with the Bulldogs leading 35-15 at the 5:15 mark of the third quarter.

While Bloom wanted back in the game, RBHS coach Dallas Till decided to rest his star shooting guard. Dana Rettke, Lyndsey Hoyd, Janae Dabney and Rachel Malloy chipped in six points apiece for the victors. The Bulldogs also received strong play off the bench from Sydney Martinez, Natalia Gheewala and Renee Kunkel among many others.

“At the start of the game, we were kind of off but once we got our blood running we played better,” Martinez said. “We always say our freshmen [Bloom, Rettke, Hoyd] don’t play like freshmen and Janae also does a great job scoring and rebounding. The rest of us just play our roles to help the team win.”

RBHS (19-4, 6-1 Metro Suburban Conference) takes on Elmwood Park and Illiana Christian this week before the Bulldogs’ showdown against Glenbard South on Feb. 4.

“We need to play good defense, play well and win our next two games to get ready for Glenbard [South],” Bloom said. “That’s obviously going to be a huge game and we’re looking forward to it.”

Fenwick loses at McDonald’s Chicagoland Prep Classic

The Friars couldn’t overcome Sydney Smith’s 29 points and nine rebounds as Vernon Hills edged Fenwick 60-46 at the 24th annual McDonald’s Chicagoland Prep Classic hosted by Willowbrook High School. Maya Garland scored 10 points for Fenwick. Fenwick also dropped a 75-58 decision to Bishop McNamara in Kankakee.

Trinity reels in two more wins

The Blazers earned a hard-fought 50-39 victory over Mother McAuley over the weekend. Lauren Prochaska scored 16 points and Annie McKenna chipped in 14 points for Trinity (18-4).

Trinity also notched a relatively comfortable 72-37 win over visiting Hinsdale Central as McKenna netted a team-high 19 points and Patricia Stritzel finished with 17 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Free throws define Friars’ rollercoaster weekend

A night removed from a difficult two-loss to Loyola in Catholic League North action, the Fenwick High School boys basketball team showed its resiliency with a 58-46 win over host Hinsdale Central during Saturday’s 17th annual High School Hoops Showdown.

Sophomore point guard Mike Smith tied his career-high of 26 points, highlighted by a perfect night at the charity stripe (17-for-17 free throws) including 10 in the fourth quarter. Scott Lindsey contributed 11 points for the Friars (14-6, 5-2 Catholic League North). Fenwick made 23 of 27 free throws on the night.

At Loyola Friday, Fenwick forward Tom Planek missed the front end of two free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining to clinch the host Ramblers’ 41-39 victory. Scott Lindsey led the Friars in scoring with 11 points.

LTHS defense denies Kenwood

The Lions locked down defensively in the second half to rally for a 67-56 nonconference win Saturday. Jim Cullen (16 points) and Harrison Niego (15 points) provided the offense along with 11 points apiece from Matt Mrazek and Sam Cybulski.

WRESTLING

Short-handed Bulldogs, Lions battle at OPRF Invite

With only 11 wrestlers on hand at Saturday’s Oak Park and River Forest Invite, RBHS 145-pound John Szydlo earned fifth place in his weight class. Szydlo, who finished 2-2 on the day, edged Jake Brandt 6-5 from Fort Zumalt West (Mo.) to garner his Top 5 showing. Other notable RBHS finishers included: Nick Giurini (113/6th place), Ivan Ceja (152/7th place), Zach Colvin (182/8th place), Shannon Hickey (195/8th place) and Zach Greenwell (220/7th place) and Gabe Lopez (285/6th place).

The Bulldogs scored 31 points while host OPRF coasted to the title with 358 points and 11 titles in 14 weight classes.

Led by weight class runner-ups Johnny Mologousis (145), AJ Villareal (152), Niko Harvel (160) and Ezra Avery (182), Lyons Township High School took second in the team standings with 217.50 points.

Friars’ Hawthorne,  Kozyra earn second in Catholic League

Fenwick wrestlers Mike Kozyra and Chris Hawthorne each earned second place at the Chicago Catholic League tournament over the weekend. Kozyra advanced to the 170-pound title bout before losing to Bishop McNamara’s Kyle Betourne 11-2.

Hawthorne lost 8-1 to Mount Carmel’s Aaron Davis in the 220 pound final. The Friars finished 9th in the team standings with 42 points, while host Mount Carmel won the title with 258 points.

-Roundup compiled by Marty Farmer