Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North
These Waubonsie Valley girls basketball players sure are a resilient bunch.
Wheaton North did all it could to overcome a poor first half, but the Warriors remained calm, withstanding the Falcons' second-half surge for a 52-44 victory Thursday in the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic quarterfinals. The victory moved the Warriors to 14-0 on the season, not bad considering they brought only seven healthy players to Wheaton North.
Take Danielle Brown, for instance. With starting post players Rachel Bostick and Emily Collins out, Brown is one of the Warriors who have had to adjust.
"When they were both in I was more of a wing, and now I've moved in, I'm pretty much the center, a 5-9 center," the senior said. "It was my position back in middle school, so it's not too much of a transition. I'll do whatever it takes to win, so I don't care. If I have to play point guard … well, I don't know about that. But it's all good."
The Warriors were all good against the Falcons, forcing 15 first-half turnovers and taking a lead that peaked at 26-12 with 2:56 to play in the second quarter.
"We were just ready to play. We came out strong. We were pumped up and ready to go," Brown added. "We really look to bring up the intensity on defense to key our offense."
"We had way too many turnovers early," Falcons coach David Eaton said. "They were wound tight. The girls knew it was a big game, and that's good for us. We need to get challenged so come later in the season we can say we've been there, done that already."
The Falcons (9-3) nearly made up for their poor first half with a strong second, cutting the Warriors' lead to 38-36 on a Madison Goudy bucket with 5:18 left in the game. Waubonsie Valley responded with baskets by Lauren Brownridge and Brown, then hit just enough free throws down the stretch to pull away.
"They're a real good ballclub, probably one of the best ones that we've faced this year," Waubonsie coach Kris Kalivas said about Wheaton North. "We knew that they were real aggressive, we knew that they were real scrappy, and we knew that we had to stay composed. I thought that we did that for about three of the four quarters. Unfortunately, that third quarter we didn't stay very composed and that allowed them to get themselves back in."
Brown led the victors with 13 points. Falcons senior Michelle Scandora scored 17 and grabbed 5 rebounds.
"Our kids played great," Eaton said. "That Waubonsie team is undefeated for a reason."
-- Orrin Schwarz
Schaumburg 52, Hersey 38:ŒThere is a reason Schaumburg is undefeated.
And the Saxons showed it with a dominating first half against Hersey at Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
The taller and more physical Saxons made it look easy in taking a commanding 32-14 halftime advantage.
But maybe it came a bit too easy, as Hersey put a scare into the Saxons narrowing the deficit to 8 points in the fourth quarter before Schaumburg finished off its 52-38 victory.
Top seed Schaumburg (15-0) advances to play No. 5 Glenbard South (11-4) in today's 7:30 p.m. semifinal.
"The first half was outstanding," said Schaumburg coach Bill Murmann of the Saxons' effort. "It may have become a little bit too easy for us. We became very disinterested in the second half and that's dangerous."
Senior forward Gabrielle Blackwell scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. Senior forward Kylie Castans added 14 of her 18 points in the first half, as the Saxons took advantage of their height.
"We definitely took advantage," said Castans, who scored 12 points in the first quarter, giving the Saxons a 19-6 advantage. "We knew there were a lot of mismatches."
Blackwell added 8 points in the second quarter and Schaumburg converted 12-of-15 first half free throws as they extended their lead to 20 points in the final seconds of the first half.
"We definitely had a height advantage and we used it," Blackwell added.
Hersey (4-9) outscored the Saxons 15-10 in the third quarter to narrow the deficit to 13 points.
Senior forward Sarah Stoltzner (9 points) scored 7 points in the quarter, while freshman Megan Rogowski (10 points) chipped in with 6 points as the Huskies attacked from the outside.
"A lot of us like to drive to the basket," added Stoltzner. "But they're very strong and hard to shoot over, we just figured we have to pull up more."
The Huskies then used a 5-0 run to start the final quarter as sophomore Julia Fredian hit a basket and junior Kelly Rogowski (9 points) scored inside and split a pair of free throws to narrow the deficit to 42-34.
"We were up and the next thing you know it was a close game," Blackwell said. "We just weren't executing."
But after the Huskies pulled to within 46-38 with 4:10 left, the Saxons finally found their defense and their shots began to fall.
They closed the game with a 6-0 run.
"For sure, they are a hard team to defend," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. "And there are 14 other teams that will tell you the same thing, but we gave them a fight in the second half."
--Michael Eaken
Hinsdale Central 55, Elk Grove 30:ΠFor the first few minutes Thursday afternoon, Elk Grove looked like a legitimate contender to knock off the No. 2 seed Hinsdale Central at Wheaton North.
After the Red Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Grenadiers bounced back with 6 unanswered points.
However, just five minutes and 16 unanswered points later, the Grenadiers had fallen behind Hinsdale Central 19-6 and would never recover.
The Red Devils (14-1) defeated Elk Grove 55-30 to advance to the semifinals against Waubonsie Valley, while the Grenadiers will face host Wheaton North in the consolation bracket.
Elk Grove sophomore Ashley Capotosto (4 points) got into foul trouble early, which left a major void in the middle for the Grenadiers.
"When Capotosto is not in the game that takes some of the wind out of our sails," Elk Grove coach Jim Wills said. "She's our go-to and our post player, and when she got two quick fouls called on her that hurt us a bit."
Picking up the slack for Elk Grove(11-5) was junior point guard Kristy Ottosen (6 points), who knocked down consecutive jump shots early on to keep the game within reach.
"Today was a tough game," Ottosen said. "We need to defeat a team, as coach (Wills) always says, with a record above .500. But we are going to learn from this and hopefully play better next time."
Causing particular issues for the Grenadiers was Hinsdale Central 6-2 senior Molly Kinsella, who led all players in three categories with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
"(Kinsella) has size, is tall, and can block shots," Wills said. "She sealed our man too often and got the ball down low.
"When you get the ball to (Kinsella) in that position she is going to score nine out of 10 times."
A lone bright spot for Elk Grove was the play of freshman Maggie Fries, who led the Grenadiers in scoring with 9 points.
With young talent still maturing, Wills understands that it will take time for his team to fully develop, but he is confident that playing tough opponents like Hinsdale Central, will speed up the process.
"Maggie Fries did a nice job tonight along with (fellow freshman) Leah Miller," Wills added. "We're still learning and are still young. We came back even in the third quarter to cut the lead to fifteen, but we just have to become better and protect the basketball."
After its first-round victory Wednesday over Lyons Township, Elk Grove had felt poised to knock off the highly touted Red Devils.
Yet, the Grenadiers inability to find open looks, multiple turnovers, and the failure to contain the likes of Kinsella would ultimately result in their defeat.
"This is definitely going to prepare us for further games," Ottosen said. "We need to give good teams like Hinsdale Central a run for their money from now on."
--Dan Hyman
Glenbard North 36, Lyons 35:ŒThe Panthers (4-11) rallied with a 14-9 fourth quarter to pull out the game in the consolation bracket of the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
Glenbard North's Brianna DiGioia scored 7 of her team-high 12 points in the final quarter.
Jacobs 58, Willowbrook 37:ŒWillowbrook (7-8) received 14 points from Ashley Kanelos and 11 from Collette Williams, but lost the consolation bracket game in the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
Jacobs held a 31-19 lead at intermission.
West Aurora 63, Downers North 48:ŒKyra Watson's 19 points powered West Aurora in the consolation bracket of the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
Missy Blazej's 14 paced Downers North (6-9), which went 24 for 37 from the free-throw line.