West Chicago slips away with another slim win
It's been tough and stressful at times on the floor this week for West Chicago, but in the end the Wildcats have had plenty to smile about.
West Chicago followed Tuesday's last-minute comeback win over St. Charles East with a 50-47 triumph in Thursday's DuPage Valley Conference opener against visiting Wheaton North in a game that was not decided until Falcons guard Fantasia Vine's last-second 3-point attempt bounced off both the backboard and the rim at the buzzer.
The Wildcats trailed 11-2 after one quarter and by as many as 10 points in the second quarter before Claire Monroe and Jessica Baids powered the team with big second halves that proved to be just enough to hold off the Vine-led Falcons. Monroe and Baids each tallied 16 points on the night after the two had combined for just 5 points in the first half.
"It's kinda putting a little pressure on my heart," joked Baids, who scored 14 second-half points. "But they're definitely fun games to be a part of."
There was little fun on the West Chicago side in the first quarter and a half on Thursday as the hosts made just 1 of 10 shots in the first quarter and looked on as Vine dropped in a pair of high-arching 3-point moon shots as the Falcons took a 16-6 lead midway through the second quarter.
But in that second quarter Monroe dropped in the first of her three 3-pointers on the night and Mary Connolly gave the Wildcats (5-2) a spark with 6 of her 10 points off the bench as West Chicago closed the gap to 18-17 at the half.
"We of course again looked a little nervous when we first came out," said West Chicago coach Kim Wallner, whose team needed to overcome slow starts in both wins this week. "I think they were caught by surprise a little with how physical it was out there. But I went 8, 9, 10 deep tonight and that helped a lot."
After the fast start the Falcons (1-4) struggled with turnovers and couldn't consistently get points from anyone other than Vine until the team made a late charge. Vine led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting, but it was A.K. Feltes and Lauren Graham who helped Wheaton North close to within 46-45 in the final minute.
"We haven't pieced it all together yet," Falcons coach David Eaton said. "Offensively, we're relying a little too much on Fantasia. She's a fabulous player, no doubt about it, but we need to get some more consistency from some other players."
Monroe missed a pair of free throws with 28.7 seconds left to play, but from there she and Baids each nailed two foul shots to seal the win.
"I felt kinda bad I missed the first ones, but I had another chance to help the team," the sophomore guard said. "We knew were better than we played at the start of the game and we try not to be intimidated by anyone."