WW South weathers West Aurora

Wheaton Warrenville South got a good look at what the second time through the DuPage Valley Conference will look like Thursday night at West Aurora.

Now 18-2 overall, 7-0 in the DVC after coming from behind for a 53-48 victory, the Tigers know they are going to get everyone's best shot.

That includes West Aurora (9-9, 2-6), who put up quite a fight after losing to the Tigers by 22 points earlier this season.

"We were having a bit of an off night," WW South sophomore Meghan Waldron said. "They stepped it up from the first time. Any team in the DVC is going to come after us now because we are the undefeated team. So we have to expect it every game."

After leading throughout the first meeting, the Tigers battled through 12 ties and 8 lead changes this time. They went ahead to stay on a driving basket from Margaret Dansdill with 4:35 left in the game.

"We're 18-2, I'd love to play us," WW South coach Rob Kroehnke said. "That comes with the territory. Everyone in conference wants to get us. We just have to get used to it."

Both coaches said one of the main differences was the way the Blackhawks got back on defense to take away the Tigers' transition game.

"We crashed the boards well," West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl said. "We did much better. We stopped their penetration. Last time we couldn't stop their fastbreak. That was our goal."

West Aurora shot exceptionally well in the first half, hitting 6 of 8 shots in the first quarter and 5 of 8 in the second. The Tigers countered with a hot start from Kasey Gassensmith, who scored 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter.

The Tigers led 16-14 after a quarter before Alexis Nelson's two 3-pointers in the second quarter and a steal and basket by Taylor Jacobsen helped the Blackhawks grab a 26-25 halftime lead.

But after making 11 of 16 shots in the first half, the Blackhawks went cold in the second sinking just 6 of 25. That included a stretch of six minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter when their final lead of the night 40-39 on Jacobsen's 3-point play turned out to be their last made shot until 12 seconds remained in the game.

That gave the Tigers time to take control with Waldron scoring 8 of her game-high 17 points in the deciding quarter and also leading the team with 8 rebounds.

With Dansdill adding 14 points, she combined with Waldron and Gassensmith for 46 of the Tigers' 53 points.

Despite the loss Siljendahl found plenty of positives. Nelson, who came off the bench because she has been sick, scored all 12 of her points on four 3-pointers.

Sophomores Abriya Zeitz finished with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds. Another sophomore Liz Skaggs just missed at 11 points and 8 boards. A third sophomore Jacobsen had 3 steals to go with her 7 points.

"We are just so young," Siljendahl said. "I told them they just have to be a sponge, learn from their mistakes. Some of them are and some are not. We're getting there. We did some nice things today.

"They have been working hard. I'm really proud of some of the girls. They are really coming along well."