Numbers add up for Naperville North's Kotrba
Seven was Chloe Kotrba's lucky number Monday night.
The senior forward recorded 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals to help the visiting Huskies knock off Waubonsie Valley 54-29 in DuPage Valley Conference girls basketball action in Aurora.
Kotrba, who also had 3 assists, did all of her scoring and got all but one of her rebounds in the first half as Naperville North built a 28-15 lead.
But her biggest impact came during the third quarter when she grabbed 5 steals. The Huskies forced 11 turnovers in the quarter, during which they outscored the Warriors 16-2 to put the game out of reach.
"We saw a really good first half and we wanted to build off that," Kotrba said. "We didn't want to give them any room to come back.
"We wanted to end it in the third quarter, and I think that's what we did."
In doing so the Huskies avoided a repeat of Saturday's 63-43 loss to Lake Park. They blew a 10-0 lead in that game and went 0 for 10 from 3-point range in the second half.
"We were coming off a tough loss and so we knew this game was very important," Kotrba said. "Our team energy was a lot better.
"We started supporting each other more and I think that translated defensively. If we weren't finishing the baskets that we wanted, we knew we had to get back on defense."
The Huskies (9-11, 4-7) did a great job of that, especially after the first quarter. The Warriors (4-16, 1-9) turned the basketball over 26 times, including 6 in a row to begin the second half.
Kotrba wasn't the only Huskie with sticky fingers. Lauren Platou and Kara Rivard each had 4 steals and Morgan Lockridge had 3.
Platou and Lockridge also lit it up from the perimeter. They each made three 3-pointers. Platou finished with a game-high 15 points, while Lockridge had 13, including 6 during a 19-2 run that gave Naperville North a 44-17 cushion after the third quarter.
"It seems like against this team we have a good opportunity of just running the ball so we try to get those steals and get up the court as fast as possible," Platou said. "We tried to trap them and get the ball."
The Warriors, who have lost seven straight and 12 of their last 13, actually had done a better job offensively recently, scoring 54 points in each of their past two games.
"Our last few games we played well offensively and tonight we didn't," Waubonsie coach David Owles said. "We turned the ball over too much.
"I thought we had some pretty good looks, especially in the first half. We just didn't make much."
Doyin Dada paced the Warriors with 8 points. Sadie Jurkovic added 8 points and 9 rebounds for the Huskies.