OT drama evens up DVC race
Kelley Hendrick feared she had let a desperately sought second crack at Wheaton North slip out of her grasp.
Redemption awaited her and Naperville Central in overtime.
Hendrick's two missed free throws in the final seconds of regulation allowed Wheaton North to rally to force an extra period. But her steal and two go-ahead free throws in the final ticks of overtime delivered a dramatic 55-51 Redhawks win on Thursday in Naperville.
"I said to Kelley, 'Sometimes in life you don't get second chances,' " Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said, "'and sometimes you do.' She made good on her second chances in overtime."
Just shy of four weeks ago, Wheaton North blew out Naperville Central 67-43 in Wheaton, what Nussbaum called his program's "worst game since 2000."
After a 180-degree reversal of fortune, both teams are tied atop the DuPage Valley Conference with two games to go.
"I wanted to beat them so bad," said Hendrick, a 17-point scorer Thursday who had just 4 in the teams' first meeting. "To make it that exciting, it's phenomenal."
Naperville Central (17-10, 10-2) appeared to have grabbed control of a close game in the fourth quarter, holding Wheaton North (17-7, 10-2) scoreless for six minutes to turn a 37-35 Falcons lead into a 43-37 Redhawks advantage with 1:13 left.
Sarah Carlson's 3-pointer pulled Wheaton North within 46-43, and after Hendrick split two free throws Lauren Graham's putback made it a two-point game with 15 seconds left.
Hendrick, a near 80 percent free-throw shooter, missed two ensuing free throws, and Wheaton North sophomore Fantasia Vine made a driving layup to tie it at 47-47.
"It's pretty hard to put it out of your head, actually," Hendrick said. "The game could have been over. I couldn't have done it without my teammates' support."
Emma Ondik's jumper and a pair of Hendrick free throws gave Naperville Central a 51-47 lead in overtime, but Wheaton North came right back with a Kat Knoedler jumper and a Vine turnaround jumper to tie it.
A Vine steal gave Wheaton North the ball with the chance to play for the win, but Hendrick stole a post entry pass and was immediately fouled. She sunk both free throws, and after a Falcons miss Hendrick swished two more free throws to ice the win.
Ondik scored 18 points and Claire Fleming had 12 for Naperville Central. Catherine Tanck and Emma Donahue both had 11 rebounds, Donahue also blocking 4 shots.
"We've won nine of our last 10," Nussbaum said, "and I would say that's parallel to the improved play of Donahue and Tanck. This was a team win against a very good team."
Lauren Hoffman scored 16 points for Wheaton North, all while hounding Hendrick defensively. Knoedler added 10 points for the Falcons, winners of nine of 10 themselves coming in.
"We knew this was going to be a barnburner, nothing like it was last time," Falcons coach Dave Eaton said. "You have to credit Naperville Central. They played really well."