First-place Wheaton North holds off West Aurora
Earlier in the year, this was the type of game that likely would have slipped away from Wheaton North.
But now a more experienced Falcons squad, one in first place in the DuPage Valley Conference, seems to make just enough plays to come away with key wins like Thursday's 48-44 defeat of visiting West Aurora.
Wheaton North (13-8, 8-1) led 13-10 after one quarter and 25-18 at the half while seemingly in control. But the Blackhawks took a 30-28 lead late in the third on a cut to the basket by Deandra Stewart, and coach David Eaton burned a timeout to regroup his squad.
"We called the timeout and said it was time to play with some heart because we were a little flat," Eaton said. "Then A.K. (Feltes) gets a steal and a basket and Fantasia (Vine) follows with a basket and she was fouled."
Those 5 quick points gave the Falcons a nice boost, but West Aurora did reclaim the lead briefly at 34-33 at the start of the fourth quarter on a jumper by Devin Vaughn and later trailed just 43-42 with 1:44 left to play following a bucket from Jasmine Johnson.
The Falcons, however, closed out the win with some timely free-throw shooting and some shutdown defense down the stretch.
Lauren Graham came up big with 8 of her 12 points in the first half, then helped pull out the win with some big rebounds and a pair of free throws that bumped Wheaton North's lead up to 47-42 with less then a minute to go.
"We just came out confident and never really doubted we'd win," said Lauren Graham, who had 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots while helping the Falcons attempt to contain West Aurora's post duo of Kiara Towles and Johnson. "We were a little flat for awhile, then A.K. got the layup and Fantasia had the and-1. We just decided to finish strong."
On a night when Vine's shots weren't falling as often as usual, Graham and Feltes each led the way with 12 points, but Vine still managed 10 and Maddie Baillie scored 7. Feltes, who had some tough battles with Towles and Johnson down low, led the hosts with 13 rebounds.
For the Blackhawks, Vaughn started slowly but hit 4 second-half shots to help rally her team while finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Towles finished with 14 points and 14 boards and Johnson was good for 10 and 10.
"We didn't play four quarters," Blackhawks coach Connie Siljendahl. "I was proud of them at points, and I was real proud of the way they fought and hustled. Just a couple more little things and we could have had them."