Hustle keeps Falcons in 1st

There was Wheaton North on Thursday night with a lead hovering around 20 points in the fourth quarter, and still senior Brooke Olson couldn't help but dive after a loose ball.

Wheaton North (16-6, 9-1) stayed in first place in the DuPage Valley Conference by hustling to a 50-37 victory against West Chicago in Wheaton. Second-place Naperville Central defeated Glenbard East to remain a half-game back. The two leaders meet in Naperville next Thursday.

"We just come out and hustle no matter what," Olson said. "We work really hard in practice on defense, and that's our main focus in games. Defense turns into offense."

Olson took an elbow in the side for her trouble - "Nothing I can't handle. We're all good," she said - and left the game, but not before her hustle turned into an easy Falcons basket at the other end of the floor.

"Brooke is nonstop," Falcons coach Dave Eaton said. "We always worry if she's going to make it through. She did a great job. She settles us down offensively. Defensively she's our leader on the floor, taking charges."

West Chicago (10-12, 5-5) started well, taking an early 7-3 lead and looking like it might defeat Wheaton North a second time this season. Then the Falcons went on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good. A 4-point halftime margin vaulted toward 20 in the third quarter when Wheaton North outscored the Wildcats 16-2.

"The kids remembered we lost at the buzzer last time," Eaton said. "It was in the back of their minds."

"Obviously, they were ready to play," West Chicago coach Kim Wallner said. "They were very physical with us. They took us out of our offensive sets, and we never really looked totally comfortable running our offensive sets. You've got to tip your hat to them. They did a nice job."

Both teams boasted of balanced scoring. Madison Goudy led Wheaton North with 10 points, one of a dozen Falcons to score. Freshman guard Liz Reyes scored 9 for West Chicago.

"I've still got some young guards, and they've played quite a few games this year, but they're still learning," Wallner said. "And they definitely got a lesson tonight a little bit. Again, this is good for us. I told them we have to keep learning, we have to keep working because we're a very young team and we're playing not just for this year but for our future."