West Chicago makes a habit of coming back
Kim Wallner might not enjoy the anxious moments, but her West Chicago team are the “comeback ‘Cats’ ” lately.
West Chicago rallied from down 5 with three minutes left to win at Glenbard North 53-46 Thursday, then came back from an 8-point deficit after three quarters to defeat Naperville North 66-61 in overtime on Saturday in Naperville.
“I wish we weren’t getting down,” veteran Wildcats coach Wallner said. “Going on the road for two games, that’s a tough start.”
No surprise, West Chicago’s guards are getting it done in the clutch.
Against Glenbard North Claire Monroe hit a big 3-pointer, Laura Panicali a steal and the tying basket and Allie Tapanes sank a go-ahead 3-pointer. Tapanes came through with 7 points in the fourth quarter and overtime against Naperville North.
Brenna MacDonald and Amanda Gosbeth also hit big shots in overtime against Naperville North.
Wallner has played as many as four guards at a time. Panicali seems to have stepped up her game as a junior. She had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals against Glenbard North and 20 points and 12 rebounds versus Naperville North.
“She’s kind of the heart of our team,” Wallner said. “She gets to the free throw line and finds a way.”
As a team West Chicago hit 22 of 28 free throws against Naperville North. The Wildcats are also shooting a sizzling 40 percent from 3-point range this year.
Better yet, they finally get a little home cooking this week with a home opener against Wheaton North on Thursday followed by a nonconference game versus St. Charles East at West Chicago on Saturday. And a week from Saturday, No. 1 Bartlett comes calling to Bishop Gym.
“We’re still trying to figure things out,” Wallner said, “but it’s nice to figure things out while you’re getting victories.”
Timothy coaches camp in Kansas:Timothy Christian coach Ryan DeKoekkoek, and Trojans boys coach Jack LeGrand recently made a trip any basketball coach would relish.In October they attended a three-day camp at Kansas University. They took in two Jayhawks practices and listened to three speakers #8212; former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, ex-NBA and college coach Larry Brown and Kansas men#146;s basketball coach Bill Self.#147;You#146;re sitting there and you can#146;t write down fast enough all that they are talking about,#148; DeKoekkoek said. #147;You want to soak in as much as possible.#148;Among the highlights, DeKoekkoek said Van Gundy stressed scouting and preparation, and also game management. #147;The biggest thing I took from Brown is you gotta keep things simple,#148; DeKoekkoek said. #147;If you run a complex offense with a lot of read and react, you better keep things simple defensively. Kids can only think about so much at one time.#148;DeKoekkoek was impressed with Kansas#146; continuous defensive shell drill, and has incorporated it into his own practices.#147;The biggest thing for me is your defense is constantly adjusting to what the offense is doing,#148; said DeKoekkoek. #147;I give a lot of credit to our girls. They have picked it up well enough that we don#146;t have to stop the drill. We say a word and then #145;boom#146; they have to shift their bodies to what we#146;re doing next.#148;The IHSA strikes again:The IHSA released its girls basketball regional/sectional sites last week.And while specific assignments won#146;t be released until later this week, it seems the Class 4A field could be quite unbalanced.It appears that Bolingbrook, Whitney Young and Trinity #8212; considered by some to be the top three teams in 4A #8212; will be in the same supersectional at Hinsdale Central. Bolingbrook and Young between them have won all four 4A state championships since the IHSA expanded to four classes, and have met at state each year. Bolingbrook will likely be placed in the 4A sectional hosted by Neuqua Valley, with Trinity and Young in the opposite sectional at Lyons Township.In 3A it appears defending champion Montini will be put in a sectional with St. Joseph hosted by Glenbard South. That sectional winner would play the Fenton sectional winner, which likely includes Marshall, at a supersectional hosted by Hinsdale Central. That would put Montini in line to play Hillcrest in a 3A state semifinal, provided both got that far.Broncos banged up:The injury bug is hitting Montini big-time of late.Sophomore Kelly Karlis, one of the Broncos#146; best defenders and rebounders, tore her meniscus in a game at the Geneva Invite two weeks ago. Surgery is expected next week with a four-week recovery time after that.In the closing minutes of last Thursday#146;s game with Walther Lutheran, Montini junior Nikia Edom rolled her ankle. Edom, Montini#146;s most experienced guard, won#146;t play tonight versus Rosary and could also miss Saturday#146;s game against Milwaukee Riverside at the Whitney Young Shootout.#147;You lose two kids like that, it hurts,#148; Montini coach Jason Nichols said.Montini-Riverside, slated for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off Saturday, will be the finale of five games Saturday at Young. Nichols said Riverside has two 6-foot-5 kids, one a junior #147;who is raw#148; and a talented freshman.#147;It#146;s nice to play teams from out of state once in a while,#148; said Nichols, whose team beat a team from Wisconsin and a team from Indiana last year. #147;It gives you a different look and valuable experience.#148;Warriors benefit from Williford return:It didn#146;t take long for Waubonsie Valley to appreciate having its senior point guard back.Becky Williford, who tore her ACL in June, saw her first action on Saturday in a win at Naperville Central. Waubonsie turned the ball over just 15 times; the Warriors had committed a combined 55 turnovers in their previous two games.Williford#146;s return also allows Waubonsie#146;s players to revert to their more defined roles. Tami Morice, more of a shooter, won#146;t have to handle the ball as much. Freshman Shannon Hohman, who has played well starting in Williford#146;s absence but is more of a shooting guard, can move over and add depth.#147;We#146;re easing Becky in,#148; Waubonsie coach Kim Connell said. #147;Right now it#146;s just getting her in game shape. Shannon has done a great job filling in. Now we can put Shannon in a spot where she#146;s more comfortable. Once we get everybody back and healthy, we should have more depth.#148; 24011768West Chicagos Claire Monroe defends against Glenbard North guard Kailey James.Daily Herald File Photo