WW South finishes busy week with key win
Wheaton Warrenville South girls basketball coach Rob Kroehnke told his team in the postgame meeting after beating host West Chicago 52-45 on Saturday to relax for the rest of the weekend and study for this week's final exams.
The Tigers are very deserving of a little downtime after a hectic week that included a narrow win over Glenbard South on Tuesday and a thriller Thursday against rival Wheaton North.
WW South finished the week by knocking off No. 16 West Chicago and making the DuPage Valley Conference race even more interesting.
The Tigers (12-5, 4-1), West Chicago (13-4, 4-1) and Naperville Central (10-7, 4-1), a 73-53 loser at Wheaton North on Saturday, all are atop the DVC standings.
“When you are trailing in conference, you have to win games like this,” Kroehnke said. “West Chicago is a good team and well-coached. We played good defense, and your defense is going to win the game.”
WW South held West Chicago to just 7 points in the first quarter after the Wildcats led early and the Tigers were up 13-7 after the first eight minutes and 27-18 at halftime.
One West Chicago player who got through the Tigers' defense was senior Mary Connolly, who scored a game-high 19 points, 13 in the final two quarters.
“West Chicago is very similar to Wheaton North. They have good outside shooters (seven 3-point baskets against WW South) and a good post player in Mary Connolly,” Kroehnke said.
The Wildcats trailed 38-33 going into the final quarter thanks to an 8-2 run that cut into the Tigers' 11-point lead.
West Chicago never got WW South's lead down to less than 5 points throughout the fourth quarter, although the Wildcats battled to the end. Connolly hit a 3-point shot with just 12.2 seconds left to make it 52-45.
Kasey Gassensmith paced the Tigers with 16 points.
“To win all three games this week is a huge step for us,” Gassensmith said. “We were just focused on beating them (West Chicago) today. We had complete confidence of winning this game today.”
WW South won't have much time to think about Saturday's game. The Tigers travel to Glenbard North on Monday.
The Wildcats face another crucial game Thursday as they travel to Naperville Central.