Wheaton Warrenville S. swarms DeKalb

Outscored 9-1 over the game's first five minutes, Wheaton Warrenville South reeled of 10 straight points to assume a lead it would never relinquish en route to a convincing 41-24 Western Sun Conference victory at DeKalb on Tuesday night.

The Tigers' tireless 1-3-1 zone defense held the Barbs (5-14, 3-3) to 21 percent shooting from the floor for the game and no field goals in the fourth quarter while also forcing 21 turnovers.

"I told the girls that it's possible (after six days off) that we could come out and shots would not fall," WW South coach Rob Kroehnke said. "I also said that our defense would get us through it."

In addition to its aggressive defense, the Tigers overcame the DeKalb lead by hitting 7 of 8 first-quarter free throws and 11 of 12 for the game.

Senior Sarah Langlas, who had a game-high 18 points, missed her 4 field-goal attempts in the first quarter but hit 4 of 4 in the second quarter to help push WW South to a comfortable 28-14 halftime advantage.

The Tigers (11-6, 4-1) shot just 35 percent from the floor for the game but hit 7 of 8 in the third quarter to dash any hopes of a Barbs comeback.

"Things started clicking after the slow start," Langlas said. "We really pulled it together, especially defensively."

Langlas' 3-point play two minutes into the fourth quarter gave WW South its largest lead, 41-23. A lifeless Barbs team managed only a single free throw in the final quarter with 1:21 left in the game.

"Our kids did not play with any intensity," DeKalb coach Debbie Whitman said. "It's very disheartening to me how we were simply outplayed tonight."

Along with helping to frustrate the Barbs' post and wing players from her backline position in the Tigers' zone, 5-foot, 3-inch Taylor Nieling contributed a pair of 3s and 9 points for the game. Senior Taylor Owens came of the bench to relieve Langlas and halt the penetration of DeKalb standout guard Helen Muleya at the point of WW South's zone while also dropping in 6 points.

"We talked before tonight about playing as one," Langlas said. "That's what we need to do, because we have no one who can do it on her own."