Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North
A nemesis knocked the Waubonsie Valley girls basketball team from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Hinsdale Central used a defensive clampdown in the second quarter and nearly flawless free-throw shooting in the fourth to defeat the Warriors 58-51 in the semifinals of the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic Friday night.
The Red Devils (15-1) beat Waubonsie Valley (14-1) three times last season.
This time they caught Waubonsie Valley shorthanded. The Warriors played without two starters -- senior forward Emily Collins, who is out for the season with an ACL injury, and junior center Rachel Bostick, who has been sidelined by a separated shoulder.
Waubonsie Valley made up for its height disadvantage early by canning its first three 3-point attempts to lead 16-12 after the first quarter.
But second-seeded Hinsdale Central tightened its man defense on the perimeter and outscored the third-seeded Warriors 13-2 in the second quarter to claim a 25-18 halftime edge.
"We closed out on their 3-point shooters much better in the second quarter," Red Devils coach Steve Gross said.
The Red Devils led by as many as 9 on a couple occasions in the second half.
Waubonsie Valley pulled within 43-40 on Lauren Brownridge's backcourt steal and lay-in with 2:16 left. But Hinsdale Central solved the Warriors' for a Katie Delaney lay-in, and Allison Pilcher's 2 free throws put the Red Devils up 47-40 with 1:21 left.
"They're a good ballclub," Warriors coach Kris Kalivas said. "We're playing two people down and unfortunately we don't have the size that we need to beat them."
Hinsdale Central made 13 of 14 free throws in the final 1:21.
"Everyone stepped up and made their free throws toward the end of the game," said Toni Kokenis, who made all 6 of hers and led the Red Devils in scoring with 14 points. "It really helped. We're a pretty good free-throw shooting team, and we struggled in the past couple games, but today we really just took our time and nailed 'em toward the end of the game."
Hinsdale Central center Molly Kinsella spent the game in foul trouble, but Delaney came through with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
"Whenever she's not in the game, I just try to make it my job to get every board that goes up," Delaney said.
Brownridge scored a game-high 16 and Anna Gault added 12 for the Warriors.
Schaumburg 82, Glenbard South 40: A great start evolved into a record-breaking night for the Schaumburg girls basketball team.
The unbeaten Saxons set a school record for points in a game with their 82-40 rout of Glenbard South in the semifinals of the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic on Friday.
Top-seeded Schaumburg (16-0) scored the first 8 points before finishing with 23 in the first quarter.
Then the Saxons registered 22 points in the second quarter, 20 in the third and 17 in the fourth.
Aly Poehlmann, a sophomore brought up for the tournament, hit a 17-footer in front of her team's bench with 44 seconds left to give them the record, breaking the old mark of 80 -- which Saxons coach Bill Murmann thought was set in the 1980s.
A Lauren Swanson free throw completed the scoring for the winners.
"We got into a real nice offensive flow tonight," Murmann said. "We had great looks at the basket. Our shots were falling. Our defense created turnovers, which led to fastbreaks.
"They're a veteran group," he continued. "There's a lot of seniors on this team with a lot of game experience and we talked about playing a complete game. From start to finish, it was a complete game."
Three Schaumburg seniors reached double figures in scoring -- by halftime. Kylie Castans finished with a game-high 24 points, Drewann Pancratz rang up 22 and Gabrielle Blackwell totaled 15.
"We were just pretty much hitting everything," Castans said.
Castans scored on a putback, then Blackwell and Castans each drained a 3-pointers to give the Saxons their 8-0 lead two minutes into the game. They stretched their lead to 27-7 early in the second quarter before holding a 45-24 cushion at the half.
"I don't think they missed," Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda marveled. "They're a great team. They have so many weapons. When you have two guards that can shoot the lights out, you can't mix it up. You can't go zone. You got to go man on them. They're big and strong kids, and they muscled us a little bit as well."
The fifth-seeded Raiders (11-5) received 11 points from Danielle Pipal and 10 from Alicia Engelhardt.
Schaumburg meets Hinsdale Central for the title at 7:30 tonight.
Wheaton North 52, Elk Grove 46: Madison Goudy netted 14 points and Allie Cerone scored 12 to lift Wheaton North (10-3) to victory in its Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.