WW South's defense key to league repeat

Wheaton Warrenville South went into Thursday needing a win to ensure defense of its DuPage Valley Conference title.

Boy, did the Tigers ever defend it.

No. 7 WW South smothered host Wheaton North from the start, a dominating 45-19 win clinching a split of the DVC championship with Naperville Central for the second straight year.

"Our defensive effort was fantastic," said Tigers senior Kasey Gassensmith, who had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. "I've never seen us play better defense. Back-to-back, it feels good. We worked hard for this."

Winning in a rival's gym with everything on the line isn't the easiest assignment, but any suspense was gone shortly after tip-off Thursday.

Leading 4-3, WW South (25-3, 13-1) ran off a 25-1 run, and led 30-7 by halftime. Gassenmith's three-point play in transition capped off the big run, making it 29-4.

"We had a couple scares this year, we knew everybody was gunning for us, but we got it done," Gassensmith said. "Wheaton North's always going to come out with a lot of energy, especially in this gym on Senior Night, but I thought we did a great job matching it."

Tigers standout sophomore point guard Meghan Waldron, who had 7 points and 6 rebounds, didn't even play in the second half. The 19 total points were the second fewest the Tigers have allowed this year and Wheaton North's low total since its season opener.

"To finish at Wheaton North and to come out and play the way they did, I'm awful proud of them. They came to play tonight," WW South coach Rob Kroehnke said. "Defensively, it's one of the best efforts I've seen all year. Defense set the tone."

The Tigers only shot 29 percent from the field in the first half but were all over the offensive glass. WW South pulled down 20 offensive rebounds for the game, 5 by Maggie Dansdill to go with her 10 points.

Wheaton North (12-15, 6-8), which dropped its fourth straight game, substituted liberally. The Falcons' starters saw limited minutes, perhaps playing things close to the vest with a potential regional final rematch next Thursday.

"But we could have showed our hand and it wouldn't have mattered," Falcons coach Dave Eaton said. "We just didn't put the ball in the basket and played terrible defense. That's a bad combination."

Freshman Ameri Jones scored 5 points to pace the Falcons, who now must regroup for Tuesday's regional opener against Glenbard North. Glenbard North swept Wheaton North in DVC games this year, including a 45-37 decision last week.

"It's not an easy road, but it's the road we've got," Eaton said. "I just feel that our execution is bad. We play hard, but we don't play smart."