Wheaton North upsets Glenbrook South

This was Wheaton North's game to win, so the Falcons went out and did just that.

Instead of buckling when Glenbrook South came from behind to tie the game in the fourth quarter, the Falcons buckled down and pulled out a 52-46 upset of the sixth-seeded Titans in the first round of the Bill Neibch Holiday Tournament in Wheaton.

Falcons coach David Eaton called it "one of the biggest wins that we've had since I've been here."

"We've been looking forward to this game for so long," Falcons senior Paige Fowler added. "We wanted to beat one of the top teams in the state. When it came down to the fourth quarter we talked about playing 32 full minutes."

Highly regarded Glenbrook South (10-3) tied the game at 43 on a Colleen McDonagh free throw with 2:16 to play. But Maddie Baillie countered by making the first of two free throws to put the Falcons in the lead for good, and when Baillie missed the second try, Fowler quickly grabbed the rebound and put the ball back through the net. Then Fowler scored the last of her 7 points on a basket with 1:28 to go to give the tournament hosts a little cushion.

"Paige Fowler stepped up big late, had a couple of layups," Eaton said, "and A.K. Feltes on the boards was just an absolute beast (with 10 rebounds)."

"I knew the whole time we were going to win," Fowler said. "I wasn't nervous. I was just waiting for a time when we'd be up again."

The win was just what the Falcons (5-5) needed.

"We've been up and down a lot," Fowler said. "We've struggled the first few games, but we're starting to get going, playing more as a team now."

"We've been trying to figure out some identity issues," Eaton said, "trying to figure out who we are. I said to them, 'This is your chance to put yourself on the map and let everybody know how good this team really can be.

"They came out fired up. I've been seeing it the last couple of weeks in practice. We've been getting better the last couple of weeks in practice."

Junior guard Fantasia Vine led the Falcons with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Junior forward Lauren Graham added 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Feltes, another junior, added 9 points.

The Falcons will play third-seeded Hersey at 3 p.m. Monday in the tourney quarterfinals.