Defensive switch benefits Naperville Central
Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum knew that a change in the defensive game plan was in order.
For three quarters the 13th-seeded Downers Grove North Trojans hung around and were within one point against the fourth-seeded Redhawks heading into the final eight minutes of Tuesday's regional semifinal.
Naperville Central switched to a box-and-one defense, and the adjustment paid off in a 56-47 win over the Trojans at the Class 4A regional hosted by East Aurora.
"I've always said that there's no such thing as an ugly win in February," Nussbaum said. "I thought we did some things we needed to do defensively in the fourth quarter, and we finally hit some key shots."
The Redhawks (23-8) move on to Friday's regional final where they will face the winner of Wednesday's Neuqua Valley vs. East Aurora semifinal. Downers Grove North finishes its season at 12-16.
"It was a game the whole time," Downers Grove North coach Leslie Dehn said. "We played very good team basketball today. Our kids came out and battled, and we were in it for three quarters. I'm very proud of the way we played."
Tied 22-22 at the half, the third quarter was a seesaw battle. The Trojans took their first lead of the game with a basket by Katie Hunzinger, which gave her team a 24-22 lead to start the third. Hunzinger scored 12 points on the night.
The quarter saw three ties and eight lead changes, the last coming on a basket by Naperville Central's Jill D'Amico, which gave her team a 42-41 lead and the momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
By the fourth, the Redhawks' box-and-one zone strategy was in full swing as Downers Grove North was held to just two field goals and six points in the final eight minutes.
Naperville Central also used a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter as Emma Ondik scored 6 of her game-high 24 points in that run. Mary Echemann's 3-pointer ended the run, but it was the last field goal of the night for the Trojans.
"I don't think we had enough defensive intensity to start," Ondik said. "In the third quarter we gave up 19 points, which is a lot to give up in one quarter. Once we realized we needed to pick it up on defense, and we went to a box-and-one, that definitely helped."
Emma Donahue was Naperville Central's second-leading scorer as she finished with 15 points for the Redhawks, while Alison Schuster led the Trojans with 17.