Neuqua Valley holds off East Aurora

Sometimes teams reach the playoffs and become timid and hesitant.

Not Neuqua Valley and East Aurora.

Both teams came out going full speed, with the Wildcats taking a 48-27 decision Wednesday night at the Class 4A East Aurora regional semifinals.

“It was a pretty weird game,” Neuqua Valley senior Alexa Wilde said. “It was pretty tough. We beat them twice, so we knew they were going to come back with some power, some intensity. If you get beat twice you really want to come back stronger the third time and you really want to go out and get them.”

Neither team lacked for effort. Bodies routinely sprawled on the floor, the result of fouls or diving for loose balls.

“We were overly aggressive on the defensive end, drawing ticky-tack fouls,” Tomcats coach William Anderson said.

“On their home court we knew it was going to be a physical game, and it turned out to be a physical game,” Wildcats coach Mike Williams said. “I thought at times it got a little bit too physical, but it’s the playoffs. What are you going to do? I was impressed with the way we kept our composure.”

It was good experience for the many young Wildcats.

“We were a little excited, a little nervous about it,” said Wilde, one of just two seniors to see significant playing time. “But we came out and finished our layups today, finished our shots and I think that made a big difference.”

The game’s intensity seemed to hinder East Aurora (14-14) offensively also. The Tomcats shot only 18 percent from the field, 47 percent at the free-throw line and committed 24 turnovers.

“The girls played hard, they just didn’t play smart,” Anderson said. “Neuqua Valley did a good job of controlling the ball. We did some things that were very sporadic during the course of the game defensively.”

The Neuqua Valley zone had a lot to do with East Aurora’s shooting woes.

“They didn’t hit a high percentage of their shots, but our defense, I thought we played very well,” Wilde said. “We actually found our rhythm again. I think we’ve been kind of hesitant or timid on defense to go out and make the steal.”

“Our defense was all over the place,” Williams added. “Our zone mixed them up a little bit. We were able to press a little bit, which I was a little worried about because I know with their quickness I didn’t think we matched up well. But we were able to cause some havoc and switch it up.”

Wilde was the only player to score in double figures, notching 14 points. Sophomore Allison Hedrick came off the bench to score 9 for Neuqua Valley (20-7), which plays Naperville Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the regional final.

“I thought Allison Hedrick came in and did a phenomenal job,” Williams said.

Jazmin Villa led East Aurora with 7 points.