Downers Grove North edges Glenbard West

Thursday night’s girls basketball game between Downers Grove North and host Glenbard West was fairly even. The teams were exchanging baskets for a majority of it.

Then the window of opportunity to win opened just enough, and the Trojans squeezed through 49-46 in West Suburban Silver action.

The Hilltoppers (8-11, 4-4) were ahead 29-27 with 1:36 left in the third quarter when post player Cayla Herbst, who scored a game-high 18 points, had to sit after being called for her third foul.

Downers North (10-9, 4-3) went right to work, going on a 9-2 run, with the help of 3 Glenbard West turnovers and led 36-31 after 24 minutes. It held that lead for the rest of the game.

“We need Cayla on the floor. She’s our go-to player. She’s solid on offense and defense. And without her, we struggled a little bit,” Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said.

For the Downers North defense there was nothing new here. The Trojans know Herbst — a 6-foot-2 senior who will play college ball next season at the University of Southern Indiana — well as the Hilltoppers’ top big threat on offense and focused on trying to contain her.

“She killed us in the first half. She’s a great high-low player,” Trojans coach Leslie Dehn said. “We made some adjustments to try and capitalize on when she was out.”

Herbst scored 12 points in the first two quarters and grabbed 6 rebounds. She finished with 12 rebounds.

Although the Trojans held on to the lead for the rest of the contest, Glenbard West battled until the end. The Hilltoppers scored 5 points with less than a minute to play, including a 3-point basket from Lauren Davis with just 14.2 left in the game to cut the Trojans’ lead to 47-46. However, the Hilltoppers were forced to foul, and Downers North’s Katie Hunzinger sealed the win with two free throws with 12.4 remaining.

It was the third straight loss for Glenbard West, and Hofland said the effort to get into a groove in the latter portion of the regular season continues.

“Our lack of patience must end, and we have to learn from our mistakes. We were making two mistakes in a row, and Downers Grove North is going to jump on you when you do that,” he said.

The Trojans’ Alison Schuster shared game-high scoring honors with Herbst with 18 points. Amelia Echemann pitched in 13 for the Trojans, who broke a four-game losing streak.

“We played a lot more as a team tonight,” Schuster said.