No stopping Naperville Central

Even when Emma Ondik’s shot is off, you expect her to make the next one.

She picked a good time to break out Saturday.

Naperville Central’s senior guard missed her first eight shots, but her 3-pointer to end the third quarter gave the Redhawks the lead for good in a 35-26 win at West Chicago.

“I had missed so many and was definitely struggling,” Ondik said. “It felt good to finally make one.”

An unusual, interrupted week of basketball ended in an almost fitting way. With 55 seconds left and Naperville Central leading 32-22, the fire alarm went off in Bishop Gym. The school was evacuated, and the game halted. When it resumed after 25 minutes, Naperville Central wrapped up its 10th win in 11 games, the last nine on the road.

“I think that shows that we’re a pretty good team,” Ondik said. “Good teams win all sorts of games. We’ve won in a lot of different ways.”

Naperville Central (20-8, 10-2 DuPage Valley Conference) nudged a half-game ahead of idle Wheaton Warrenville South and a game ahead of Wheaton North with a week to play. The Redhawks host Wheaton North on Monday.

“We told our girls, ‘We don’t have to watch the scoreboard,’” Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said. “It’s in our hands. Now we need to win out.”

A rugged, loosely called game helped make scoring hard to come by. The tone was perhaps set early when West Chicago’s Mary Connolly floored Ondik with a hard, but clean screen. Tough play ensued on and off the ball.

“If the refs aren’t going to call fouls, we’re both going to play physical. That’s how it was,” Ondik said. “We expected a game like this coming in. I think we did a good job of matching their physical play.”

West Chicago (16-8, 7-5) led 15-12 at half behind Connolly’s 7-point, 8-rebound first half. It was 19-17 Wildcats after Allie Tapanes sunk a short turnaround jumper, but Ondik hit her 3-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Ondik’s kick-out to Jamie Cuny for a 3-pointer made it 23-19. A Claire Monroe 3-pointer with 5:49 left pulled West Chicago within 24-22, but Ondik answered a minute later with a step-back corner 3-pointer.

West Chicago, meanwhile, went more than five minutes without a score until two Kelsey Myers free throws with 44 seconds left.

“We just did not show the poise and composure that we need to at the offensive end,” West Chicago coach Kim Wallner said. “Really no complaints about our defense at all today.”

Naperville Central was the first team to hold West Chicago, averaging 49.9 points per game, under 40.

“At this point in the year there is no such thing as an ugly win,” Nussbaum said. “Our defense, particularly in the second half, was tremendous.”

Ondik finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds, and Emma Donahue 11 points and 8 boards for Naperville Central. Connolly and Monroe scored 7 each.