Bushman, Huskies swipe OT triumph over East Aurora 12-2

Shannon Bushman had the next round of the playoffs in her mind and larceny in her heart.

The Naperville North freshman came up with a steal in the final second of regulation time to force overtime in Monday's play-in game at the Bolingbrook Regional.

Then Bushman made two more steals in the extra period as the Huskies outscored East Aurora 12-2 for a 55-45 win and the right to face host Bolingbrook in Tuesday's semi-final.

"We did a good job of trapping the ball handler and my job was to drop down and cover the opposite post," Bushman said.

"Shannon did exactly what we asked her to do," said Naperville North coach Jacquie Discipio. "If it wasn't for that defensive play, we would never have gotten in to overtime."

In those final four extra minutes the Huskies (5-21) played their best ball as Kaelyn Witkowski led with 6 of her 13 points.

"We finally settled down in the overtime and played our game instead of their game," Witkowski said. "We were talking more, moving the ball and being patient. East Aurora got frustrated that we weren't taking the fast shot. We had to win this game and tie last year's record of 5 wins."

The Huskies were leading the Tomcats (10-15) 19-15 at the half, but East Aurora came out strong in the third period with a 9-point run and built a 28-23 lead.

Naperville North, sparked by Caitlin Knoll's pair of 3-pointers, moved back ahead 33-31 at the end of three quarters.

The lead went back and forth in the fourth period, but the Tomcats Jasmine Shipp went the length of the court with a rebound to tie the game at 43-43 with a minute to play.

While Bushman's steal saved the game on the Tomcats' final possession, it was all Huskies in extra time.

"I told them before the overtime that this was their chance for redemption," said Discipio. "They came out in the overtime and looked more like the team I've seen throughout the month of January. That overtime erased the 'yucky' feeling we had throughout the game."

Knoll, who hit four 3-pointers for the game, was the Huskies high scorer with 14 points. Haley Krentz added 12 points and 7 rebounds against the taller Tomcats. Bushman came up with 6 steals.

Malory Adam led the Tomcats with14 points, while two of her teammates, Shipp and Priscilla Miranda, hit double digits in rebounds with 10 apiece.

"Naperville North made plays down the stretch, knocked down the free throws and capitalized on our turnovers," said East Aurora coach William Anderson. "We had mental breakdowns in key situations. Our kids have to realize that it's not about athleticism. They have to think basketball and read situations. A lot of times we were just in too much of a hurry."