Johnson makes some noise in WW South rivalry win
Wheaton Warrenville South sophomore Jayla Johnson insisted she was very happy after scoring 19 points in the Tigers 46-42 victory against cross-town rival Wheaton North.
"I am. I'm very excited," the low-key Johnson said with a laugh.
"She's a sophomore," Tigers coach Rob Kroehnke added. "She was a really quiet freshman, and she's a really quiet sophomore."
Johnson's play Thursday night at WW South spoke volumes. The 19 points were a personal best, and she also had 8 rebounds, 6 off the offensive boards.
"My teammates helped me. They gave me the ball when I needed it. It was just a team effort that helped us win," Johnson said.
"She's not the tallest kid on the floor," Kroehnke said, "but she's one of the strongest, so we're making an effort to get her the ball and the kids understand if she gets the ball and gets on a roll, it's going to open up some outside shots."
In a game of runs, the teams took turns grabbing the lead. The Tigers (4-2, 1-0 DuPage Valley Conference) grabbed the lead for good on an Erin Madigan basket with 4:11 to play in the fourth quarter. Another Madigan basket and a Sarah Struebing basket put the Tigers ahead 41-35 with 2:44 to play before the Falcons' Sarah Topps ended the run with a 2-pointer of her own.
"We just needed to slow down a little bit and take care of the ball," Johnson said.
Madigan struggled through the first three quarters, but she rose to the occasion in the fourth. Her 6 points were well-timed, and she had a pair of steals and a pair of rebounds in the fourth period, plus a block on a Falcons shot with five seconds to go.
"She knows what to do," Kroehnke said. "She's had success at the varsity level. She just needs to get control of everybody. I mean, she's our leader."
"It all came down to they had some kids who are returning varsity players and they stepped up for them," Eaton added. "You've got to give them credit for executing when they had to."
The Tigers had three freshmen enter the game as substitutes, but Wheaton North (1-4, 0-1) started a very young lineup with two sophomores and two freshmen. The freshmen led the Falcons in scoring. Topps had 14 points and Nikki Baird 12, both earning praise from their coach.
One of the sophomore starters, Matti Zander, left the game in the first half with a knee injury.
"We're hoping it's good news," Eaton said. "We'll see. She's going to go get it checked tomorrow. She's a good player for us, and we missed Matti down the stretch. She's a good defender who's been playing well offensively and defensively."
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