West Chicago’s fast start too much for Glenbard N.
The first eight minutes of West Chicago’s 49-34 home win over Glenbard North are exactly what Wildcats coach Kim Wallner expects from her squad.
In Thursday’s first quarter, West Chicago (9-1, 3-0) opened with a 7-0 run, found a balanced attack of inside and outside shooting and executed defensively. It’s what Wallner described as her team’s best quarter of the season.
Senior Mary Connolly was responsible for 8 of the 22 Wildcats points in the monster first period.
“Our focus has been to come out as strong as we possibly can,” Connolly said. “We want to show teams what we can actually do.”
Connolly and teammate Allie Tapanes led all scorers with 13 points each.
“It’s the best we’ve executed all year in that first quarter, Wallner said. “We shot the ball well and passed up some open shots to run the offense and get a better shot.”
The Wildcats were near flawless on the opposite end of the court as they allowed only 6 Panthers points to be scored in the first quarter.
“Our defense took (Glenbard North) out of what they wanted to do in the first,” Wallner said.
Glenbard North (2-8, 0-3) regrouped in the second half behind an offensive charge led by senior Carson Jones.
“I definitely think we dug ourselves a hole early, but we started executing on both ends after the game wore on,” said Panthers coach John Chamberlain.
The Panthers looked prime to cut into the lead significantly in the third quarter until Wildcats senior Kelsey Myers drilled her second 3-pointer of the game. The shot quickly ceased Glenbard North’s momentum.
“Earlier in the season I was shooting better and lately I lost the touch. But today I felt a lot better about my shot,” Myers said.
Heading into the fourth quarter West Chicago held a commanding 42-24 lead.
“We had a lot of defensive breakdowns and confusion,” Chamberlain said.
“They really packed the lane and made things hard on us,” Wallner said.
Myers’ solid shooting off the bench is evidence of how deep West Chicago is this season.
“Having a lot of depth on our bench is key,” Connolly said.
In total six Wildcats players scored at least 3 points.
“We’re happy to be 3-0 (in conference) going into Christmas break,” said Wildcats senior Meagan Radloff. “We just have to keep the intensity and work on things over break.”