Strong start lifts Naperville Central

Jamie Cuny still remembers the last time the Naperville Central girls basketball team made the short trip to play cross-town rival Naperville North.

After Thursday night that memory might be fading just a bit.

Naperville Central scored 18 first-quarter points Thursday 9 on a trio of 3-pointers by Cuny and was never seriously threatened en route to a 54-42 road win over Naperville North. It was the Redhawks' first game at Naperville North since Jan. 24, 2011, a 69-61 loss that eventually kept them from winning the outright DuPage Valley Conference title.

"It's a big rivalry," Cuny said. "Last year we came out here and just did not play well. It was a bad game for us. That pushed us more to want this one.

"We came out strong."

Cuny started especially strong, scoring 11 points in the game's first eight minutes.

The 6-foot junior hit 4 first-quarter field goals, getting started with a 3-pointer and adding two more as Naperville Central raced out to an 18-6 lead. Cuny finished the game with 13 points as one of three Redhawks in double figures.

"I got hot," Cuny said. "My teammates know when to get me the ball."

Naperville Central led 26-9 with 3:53 to play in the second quarter and looked poised to make the second half irrelevant before Naperville North got a 3-pointer from sophomore Delaney White and back-to-back baskets from seniors Britney Weizeorick and Shannon Bushman to cut the lead to 29-18.

The Huskies actually cut the deficit to 31-23 on a layup by senior Kathleen Hahne with 5:13 to play in the third quarter. But Naperville Central steadied itself to close the quarter with a 12-3 run and effectively end the game.

"I don't know what happened," Naperville North coach Jacquie Discipio said. "Sometimes our girls have slow starts to games.

"I expected them to respond and fight back, and we just did not have it in us tonight."

Naperville Central's defense corralled Naperville North's speed. The Redhawks used a box-and-one defense to handcuff Bushman, who finished the game with just 8 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

"Bushman got 31 (points) last Saturday night. She's an awesome player," Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. "Defensively, we made them earn every point they got."

Senior Emma Donahue led Naperville Central with 14 points. Junior Victoria Trowbridge added 11.