Glenbard W. finishes strong vs. Neuqua

Extra conditioning drills and weight training have really paid off this year for the Glenbard West girls basketball team.

As they have done all season, the Hilltoppers took control in the fourth quarter with a 13-point run and defeated host Neuqua Valley 60-46 in Naperville on Thursday.

"The coaches always preach to us to play all four quarters and finish the game strong," said Abbie Hastings, who led Glenbard West with 20 points. "That's what we did tonight. This was a good start to the new year."

"We're following our football team's example and really working on conditioning," said Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland. "We've been stronger at the end against every team. The fourth quarter is where we dominate."

Until that breakaway the Wildcats (7-9) utilized a quick four-guard lineup to battle the Hilltoppers (13-5) even for three quarters.

In fact the host Wildcats led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to three 3-pointers by Morgan Williams.

"We did a good job of driving the basket and then kicking it out for the open shots," said Neuqua coach Mike Williams. "We were aggressive and played with great intensity."

With Hastings on the bench with two fouls for most of the first half the Wildcats continued to battle and were tied at 28-28 at the intermission.

Hastings returned in the third quarter, but the much taller Hilltoppers still couldn't shake their opponents, owning a 43-41 lead at the end of the period.

Hastings, who also gathered 9 rebounds, started the scoring after 15 seconds had elapsed in the final period with a three-point play and followed that up with a layup the next time down the floor.

That set the tone as the Hilltoppers added 8 more points to make it 56-41 by the four-minute mark before Brittany Williams sank a long 2-pointer for the Wildcats' first score.

Glenbard West coasted the rest of the way.

"We moved the ball really well tonight," Hastings said. "We pass it around and made the defense shift, which gave us the open shots and open drives. We were also strong on defense."

Sophomore center Cayla Herbst was a dominating presence on defense for the Hilltoppers with 6 blocked shots and 8 boards.

Kathryn Lux scored 16 for Glenbard West and Teresa McDonald added 11.

Hofland was impressed by his opponents' performance.

"They gave us trouble," he said. "They're a physical, well-coached team, and they did a great job of pressuring us. Our girls matured tonight. They did a great job of not letting the pressure get to them. They showed their composure and fought through the pressure."

"In that fourth quarter we stopped doing the things we were doing for the first three," Mike Williams said. "We just got tired. Once we've played more and more the way we did tonight, we're going to get our legs and finish better."

Brittany Williams led the Wildcats with 12 points and Morgan Williams finished with 10.