Raiders make Waubonsie battle for win
The way Glenbard South and Waubonsie Valley fought tooth and nail Saturday at the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic, it seemed the tourney title was at stake.
But then you don't make waves in Illinois girls basketball by being passive, on the court or off, and both teams aspire to postseason glory.
The Warriors held off a furious fourth-quarter Glenbard South rally to capture third place at Wheaton North, winning 56-50.
"They're a tough team," Waubonsie Valley point guard Anna Gault said. "They came in the fourth seed, so we knew it was going to be a pretty tough game. It was a little intense. We were kind of worried, but we came through."
"We really wanted to win," Raiders senior center Alicia Englehardt said. "We were down at half, but we wanted to come out, try our hardest to come back. I think our defense got us back in the game, definitely."
Waubonsie Valley (15-1) jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first quarter, and the margin fluctuated between 8 and 16 points through the third quarter, which ended with the Warriors up 42-26.
The Raiders (11-5) didn't yield, though.
Maja Despot opened the fourth period with a three-point play, Engelhardt followed with a bucket of her own to cut the lead to 11, and the tone was set. Engelhardt finished with a team-high 14 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Despot added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
The Raiders knocked the lead to single digits on a Meghan Pipal putback with 3:57 to play, but they never got closer than 6.
The Warriors had their free-throw shooting to thank for that. They made 18 of 22 in the final quarter, going without a field goal.
Danielle Brown led the Warriors with 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Gault added 13 points, 5 assists and 6 steals.
"Anna's been a staple for us the last four years, and I thought she had a spectacular tournament," Warriors coach Kris Kalivas said. "Fortunately, when the ball's in her hands we're pretty comfortable with it."
It was a good showing for the Raiders in their first season visiting Wheaton North for the holidays.
"We were previously at the Oak Lawn tournament, and we played pretty, in general, not-so-great competition," Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said, "and I wanted to come here because whether you win or lose, you still play good teams and it gets you ready for the second half of the season. I didn't feel like we were prepared last year after our Christmas tournament for the second half. This year I feel like we are."
Likewise, banged-up Waubonsie Valley saw improvement but still couldn't get past Hinsdale Central, its annual tourney nemesis.
"We were hoping to get to the championship, and we were hoping to knock off Hinsdale Central for one time in the last few years, but I was proud of the kids for how they battled all week," Kalivas said.