W. Chicago stuns Wheaton North
For a girl known for her softball skills, this was like stealing home plate in the bottom of the ninth.
Izzy Bruce's layup as time expired off a Wheaton North turnover gave host West Chicago a dramatic 55-53 win on Tuesday night.
Wheaton North inbounded the ball in its frontcourt with 8.8 seconds left, itself aiming to break the tie. But the ball was knocked away on a drive to the basket, and on a mad dash the other way West Chicago freshman point guard Liz Reyes found Bruce, who put in the game-winner just before the clock hit triple zeroes.
"End of the games always kind of make me nervous," said Bruce, who had a team-high 15 points, "but I just ran the floor and Liz made a nice pass. It was exciting."
The win was a nice boost for West Chicago (5-6, 2-1 DuPage Valley Conference). The improving Wildcats already have doubled last year's win total and own an impressive conference win over Glenbard East. But they came into the game off of consecutive double-digit home losses to Naperville Central and Geneva.
"We were pretty embarassed after the Geneva game," West Chicago coach Kim Wallner said, "and we had a tough practice yesterday. I'm proud of how the girls responded. They definitely came out ready to play."
Bruce's hot hand got West Chicago going early, as she scored 9 points in the first quarter, three baskets on long jumpers. The Wildcats led 17-14 after a quarter and 31-28 at the half.
An 8-0 run capped off by a Chrissie Rovtar score pushed West Chicago's lead to 39-31 with 4:51 left in the third. Wheaton North answered with 10 unanswered points of its own ignited by a Lauren Graham three-point play.
Wheaton North was in the bonus midway through the third quarter, and three West Chicago starters were saddled with foul trouble, including post player Jessica Baids. But the Wildcats got big production from its bench, led by sophomore Mary Connolly.
A Graham three-point play with 2:24 in the fourth quarter tied the game at 52-52. Lauren Hoffman made a free throw with 1:53 left for Wheaton North, and Claire Monroe split two free throws with 55 seconds left to tie it.
Graham had 18 points and 7 rebounds and Hoffman had 8 points for Wheaton North (6-4, 2-1), which lost its second game in four days after the Falcons had run off five straight wins.
"We're not executing our sets and we're not executing on defense," Falcons coach Dave Eaton said. "We really have to work it out. There's no doubt that the girls want to work it out, and they're going to make the effort."
Katie Staiton scored 9 points and Baids 8 for West Chicago, whose win adds fuel to the theme of a wide-open DVC.
"I believe in the DVC, on any given night, anybody can beat anybody," Wallner said. "It's who shows up to play."