St. Francis needs overtime to defeat Glenbard West
St. Francis learned Wednesday how to handle an overtime game. The Spartans just weren't happy about having to go to overtime.
St. Francis built a 16-point second-quarter lead, then had to start all over again in overtime before finally taking a 56-53 nonconference victory from visiting Glenbard West. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Spartans (15-7), who meet St. Ignatius in the GCAC Tournament on Saturday.
"That puts us in a whole different position that we haven't been in before," Spartans coach Melissa Taylor said. "I'm pleased that they fought through and battled for four minutes."
"It was really crazy," St. Francis sophomore Antwainette Walker said. "I think we were kind of tired out here and never really came out and pushed through (in the second half). Our shots started draining in, definitely, and then we started passing the ball more and playing more as a team."
Walker had a big game for the Spartans, notching a double-double on the night. She scored 23 points, 9 in overtime, and grabbed 15 rebounds. She also had 4 steals and 3 assists.
"Walker went to the boards hard, got a couple of buckets here and there and just got it done," Taylor said.
St. Francis scored the final basket of the first quarter to take a 17-15 lead, then scored the first 14 points of the second quarter. Glenbard West (12-13) scored the final 5 points of the period to pull within 11 points at halftime.
"We just didn't play very good defense," Hilltoppers coach Karen Persinger said.
The Hilltoppers cut the lead to 6 after three quarters, but they didn't pull even until junior Zoe O'Day hit a 3-pointer with three seconds to play to send the game to overtime.
"That's a shot she can make," Persinger said. "Am I surprised by it? No. We finally had good ball reversal. We knocked that down and that kept us in it."
Senior Grey Hayes led Glenbard West with 20 points.
"There were moments that we played well. It just was not a complete game," Persinger said.
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