Huskies earn 1st victory
Martinice Price feels no pressure in clutch situations.
She proved that when she scored 8 points in the last 2 minutes and 40 seconds of Thursday night's girls basketball game to lead host Naperville North to its first win of the season, a hard-fought 44-42 victory over visiting DuPage Valley Conference opponent Glenbard North.
Price's résumé for that final stretch also included a steal and 3 key rebounds, a tall order for the 5-foot-2 junior point guard, the smallest player on the floor.
"It's not about the size of the dog, it's about the fight," said Price, who scored 11 in the game.
At the 2:40 mark Price made a steal and went in for the layup, which she missed. But she got the rebound and converted to bring the Huskies within a point.
Foul shots by the Panthers' Brooke Stronsky increased the lead to 39-36, but there was Price again, on a putback and the ensuing free throw for a three-point play to tie it at 39-39.
After the Huskies (1-7, 1-2) took the lead on a pair of Erica Schertz foul shots, Glenbard North (1-8, 0-2) tied it again on Megan Ney's putback.
But with 45 seconds to go, Price drove in for what would be the winning basket to make it 43-41.
With 6.6 seconds to go she grabbed another rebound and hit 1 of 2 from the foul line to produce the final margin.
"This game is our turnaround point," Price said. "It's nothing but uphill from here."
"We had a tough time stopping their point guard (Price)," said Glenbard North coach Mark Glenn. "She penetrated and dished well and made those big plays at the end. We had a good look at the end but just couldn't convert."
Price's clutch performance complemented the tough all-around play of teammate Kaelyn Witkowski, who battled the Panthers all night, registering 6 rebounds, 5 steals and providing the Huskies with much-needed scoring with a game-high 16 points.
"Kaelyn was making the big plays when they counted," said Naperville North coach Jay Wachtel. "She's a leader. She was scoring and that's what we've been lacking. She got it done and that was huge."
Witkowski expected this game would end the Huskies' losing streak.
"We had a good feeling about the game," Witkowski said. "I wrote a note to the girls saying we're going to win. Once someone steps up everyone gets that energy and that's what happened. It feels really good not to have to go into the locker room and talk about what we should have done."
"We were really tough tonight," Wachtel said. "It's been a big focus of ours to play physical, tough and strong. And we did that tonight. It was a bunch of little plays that came together for the win."