Waubonsie Valley overcomes slow start, Naperville North

The score at the end of the first quarter just didn't make a lot of sense to Waubonsie Valley Tuesday night.

The Warriors, after all, forced visiting Naperville North into 10 turnovers and also grabbed their share of offensive rebounds - and combination that allowed them to attempt more than twice as many shots as the Huskies.

Yet somehow Naperville North led 12-10 after the opening quarter following a long 3-point bomb by freshman guard Bria Walker. Some missed layups played a role in the Warriors' 5-of-15 shooting in the first quarter, but Waubonsie kept up the intensity on defense and the boards and then the shots started to fall.

A 16-2 advantage in the second quarter spring-boarded the (3-0) Warriors to a 58-30 victory over Naperville North in the Lady Warhawk tourney in Aurora.

"Offensively, we were a little cold, but that's going to happen," Waubonsie coach Kim Connell said. "But we tell them that there's never an excuse to not play great defense."

Keiera Ray had a big game on both ends of the floor for the Warriors, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. But it was after teammate Tami Morice found her shooting stroke in the second quarter that the hosts were able to pull away from Naperville North, even with Walker sinking five 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 17 points for the Huskies.

Morice had four baskets in the second quarter and also nailed a 3 in the second half to equal Ray's 16 points.

"Our coach says our defense is our main offense," said Morice, who also had 5 rebounds a pair of steals and a blocked shot on Tuesday. "We have to finish our layups better, but we got a burst of energy in the second quarter and I guess I kinda got in a little groove."

Because of the turnovers - 18 in the first half and 30 all told - the Huskies (1-2) struggled to get in any kind of a groove, aside from a few long-range jumpers from Walker. Zoe Swift did score 7 points, but aside from her and Walker Naperville North had just two other field goals on the night and just 6 of the team's 30 points came from players other than the two freshman guards.

"The most frustrating thing as coaches was our offensive movement," Huskies coach Jacquie Discipio said. "A lot of the time we left Zoe hanging out there and we were watching and waiting around for her to do something. Waubonsie is a great team and they worked hard, but we need better movement on offense."

Tanysha Walls added 10 points and 8 rebounds for the winners, while Emily Koch paced the Huskies on the glass with 8 boards.