NEW LENOX -- After executing enough ball movement to mimic the dizzying effect of a roller-coaster ride, Providence Catholic High School point guard Katie Budz played like a professional pool shark and deposited her pin-point passes to Brianne Vandenberg in the corner.
With UIC-bound senior guard/forward Katie Hannemann clogging up the middle of the lane and pulling in the double-teams against Plainfield Central's trapping 1-2-2 and 2-1-2 zone defenses, the 5-foot-1 Budz acted as joyful as a child on a swing set before locating a suddenly open No. 51.
That was Brianne on the baseline.
"You know, it has been a step out for me this year," Vandenberg said. "I usually had played on the inside, but this year I've been on the outside, so it has been different. I like it, and I'm adjusting to it well."
Nothing the Plainfield Central girls would do Monday night could adjust to Vandenberg turning into Vandenplug -- as in spark plug. The 5-8 junior guard connected on 5-of-8 shots from 3-point range to score a career-high 23 points as Providence rolled to a 71-31 nonconference rout.
"Bree for three" also worked well as an overall slogan for Providence (9-9) -- which improved to 5-1 in its last six games behind Vandenberg's 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and her 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. The Celtics shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64), cashing in 9-of-29 on threes.
Better than a lotto winner, the 6-1 Hannemann hit the jackpot with 16 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots. Budz, only a junior, delivered 7 assists to go with her 5 points and sophomore guard Emily Persak picked up 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and another 3-pointer.
Beyond those, senior guard Amy Wallace and freshman guard Allie Hill each had 6 points, with both of Wallace's conversions on 3-balls. Sophomore center Danielle Barry chipped in with 5 points and 10 rebounds, but the most damage came via Vandenberg's fine first-half haul.
That was the difference.
"It felt good," said Vandenberg, who shot 5-of-8 afield and 4-of-6 on threes during a 14-point opening 16 minutes. "It was a good confidence booster for me. We were getting into the flow of it, we were swinging the ball and it just so happened that I was open."
"I actually think I have some pretty nice shooters," Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver confirmed. "Emily, Allie Hill, Budz and 'Bree' can all shoot the basketball, and we do want them to shoot threes. They have the green light as long as their feet are in rhythm, we have the rebounders and it's within reason -- within our offense."
A two-game winning streak of playing within itself went by the wayside for inexperienced Plainfield Central (2-13). Freshman guard Brigid Hanley led with 9 points, while sophomore guard Olivia Scott totaled 7 points and 5 rebounds. The Wildcats stayed close early, but shot a sour 22.4 percent (11-of-49).
Sans youth, Plainfield received 7 points from senior forward Paige Lembas and 4 points and 9 rebounds from 6-2 senior center Hannah Griffin. Junior forward Briana Tierney scored a frantic 5 points and swished home the Wildcats' lone 3-pointer in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
"I'm not disappointed with our shots or what we're trying to do," Plainfield coach Mark Krusz said. "Yeah, we do get confused sometimes on our traps and we do make some mistakes, but we're getting good shots. How many good shots did we get underneath? How many shots did we get? We're just not putting them in.
"I do think Olivia played extremely well. We're asking her to do a lot of things that are out of her character, so I think she's doing really well. And Brigid will do well, too, but she has been out for 10 days with a bunch of different stuff, and those are the tough things."
After falling behind 11-1 with 1:59 left in the first quarter, Plainfield made it tougher on Providence. The Celtics took the lead on Budz's lob to Hannemann, Budz's triple from Vandenberg, Budz's bouncer to Vandenberg for a trey and Persak's powerful baseline drive.
However, the Wildcats clawed back within 13-10 by 5:47 remaining in the second quarter. Hanley's free throw, a couple of inbounds feeds to Griffin for lane jumpers, Lembas' amazing save to Scott for a banker and a pair of freebies from senior guard Sara Kulaga kept it closer than the final score eventually told.
"It was, it was," Krusz said. "I think we're a better team than the scoreboard shows. We knew they could score from the outside and we decided, 'Let's see if we can get out, deny their wings and prevent it.' Our posts couldn't get out, that drew out our wings, and it made it a whole lot easier for them to set up in the corner."
Thereafter, Providence cornered the market with Vandenberg. She sandwiched a trifecta of 3-pointers between Hanley's left-handed layin for a 22-12 lead with 2:08 left in the second quarter. Hanley's free throws preceded back-to-back left layups from Hannemann. Barry's free throw at 0.5 seconds to go built the bye-bye 27-14 halftime lead.
More shots. More threes.
"We've been working on that a lot in practice lately and we've been getting stopped on it before, so it's good to see it work in a game," said Hannemann, who shot 7-of-11 "If you move the ball a lot and if you move the ball well on that zone, usually you can get that kind of shot."
"I thought we swung the ball well," Copenhaver said. "When we made that pass from Katie to 'Bree' and worked the ball around, that's when we hit it."
Behind 5 points apiece from Vandenberg and Hannemann, the Celtics hit the bull's-eye for a 38-18 lead with 2:23 left in the third quarter. Vandenberg's closing three and Wallace's baseline 3-ball were highlights, and Hannemann's buzzer putback provided a 42-22 cushion that expanded in a 29-9 fourth.
More threes. More than one.
"It can't be, it can't be," Copenhaver said. "It's too much to put on one person. We have Katie's presence with rebounding, blocking shots and scoring inside, and we need to complement that to be successful. I think down the stretch, that's the type of play we will need from the people we have like Vandenberg."
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