Neuqua Valley comeback sinks Naperville Central
A 22-7 run in the fourth quarter sparked Neuqua Valley and stunned Naperville Central.
Sophomore Najee Smith scored all of her 12 points in the final quarter as the host Wildcats rallied from a 9-point deficit, squeaking by the Redhawks 44-38 Monday evening in nonconference action.
“I don’t know what got into us,” Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. “We obviously played right into their hands through the three quarters. Defensively, instead of sitting back, we started coming up and getting some steals.”
“I gave my team the best I could do,” Smith said. “Coach always says our defense will turn into offense. We played hard, and it showed in our offense.”
Central overcame a slow start and led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Redhawks used 6-points at the free throw line from senior Jill D’Amico to extend the lead.
In the second quarter, both teams see-sawed through lead changes, but Redhawks junior Laura Dierking scored all 5 of her points in the quarter, helping the Redhawks to a 19-15 halftime lead.
The Redhawks (10-8) enjoyed a double-digit lead late in the third quarter before Neuqua’s Amarah Coleman buried a triple to cut the deficit to 9. The Redhawks closed the third quarter with a 31-22 lead, and what looked like a sizable cushion.
“At 31-19, I thought we were very comfortable,” Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said.
But the Wildcats (14-1) roared to life in the final eight minutes, paced by a swarming defense and Smith’s barrage of buckets. Smith had dropped 10 points in just over four minutes, including the tying layup, making it 33-33.
Coleman drained 2 free throws with 3:47 left, and Smith added another layup on a turnover, giving Neuqua a 4 point lead.
The Wildcats outscored the Redhawks 6-4 in the final two minutes to pad the victory.
The stunning turn of events had Nussbaum searching for answers. In the tight fourth quarter, the Wildcats went 10-for-14 from the free throw line while the Redhawks were unable to make it to the stripe.
“I don’t know why or what the answer is,” Nussbaum said. “This has happened several times to us now and it’s very discouraging. They got extra, extra aggressive. In a game like that, with the pressure they’re giving, and we don’t go to the line at all in the fourth quarter, I guess it’s something I really don’t understand.”