Naperville Central happy just to have 'W'

Naperville Central girls basketball coach Andy Nussbaum no longer attempts to explain his team's consistent lapses after garnering a 10- or 15-point lead.

Instead, he's willing to just roll with the trend from here on out.

Tuesday night against Downers Grove South, the Redhawks jumped out to an 18-2 second-quarter lead, only to see Downers Grove South slowly trim the deficit to 8 points in the third. As has usually been the case, though, Nussbaum's Redhawks (25-6) pulled out a victory, this time a 49-22 victory in the semifinals of the Class 4A Naperville Central regional.

"I don't know how to describe it," Nussbaum said. "I don't have an explanation for it, but I will say we've won 25 games, so I'm not going to complain.

"At this time of year, the idea is to live to play another day, and we're just trying to survive. It may not be pretty, but we're not looking for pretty. We're looking for 'W's."

Center Emma Donahue played a major role in Naperville Central's initial 18-2 burst, asserting herself in the paint to the tune of 9 early points. Senior Claire Fleming complemented Donahue throughout the first half, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds.

"We always talk about coming out strong and how that's going to make the difference in the game," Fleming said. "Sometimes we fall short in the middle a little bit, but we were able to recover tonight and that's what mattered in the end."

The Mustangs (10-16) climbed back from a 22-9 halftime deficit and pulled within 24-16 on a Kelly Howatt score. Better proficiency on the glass keyed the turnaround, as Downers Grove South out-rebounded the Redhawks 14-7 in the period.

"We know we can play with any team," Mustangs coach Mike McGinnis said. "Our problem is we need to learn how to do it for four quarters."

McGinnis felt if Downers Grove South could scrap its way back into the game and keep the deficit under 10 points, it would have a shot down the stretch.

"We figured if we could get it to a 10-point gap, then we could try to make a game of it," he said. "Once (Naperville Central) got it over that 10 again, it was hard for us to get out of that hole."

Fleming notched a double-double, scoring a game-high 18 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Donahue fell a single board short of a double-double, chipping in 15 points.

The Redhawks will host Benet on Thursday night for the regional championship.