Callahan gives Neuqua Valley lift it needs to beat Wheaton North
Sophomore reserve guard Megan Callahan wants to become another source of energy for the Neuqua Valley girls basketball team.
After her 3-pointer in the first quarter gave the Wildcats the lead for good Tuesday at Wheaton North, Callahan hustled to the baseline, stole the ball and scored again.
"My (defensive) position is up there so I was trying to be really aggressive because I don't want to make a mistake from something I just did really well," Callahan said. "I just went in really aggressive, got the ball, and went in and bam, the whole team started crazy."
The Wildcats used several players to build a double-digit advantage and then held off several surges by the Falcons to earn a 66-57 DuPage Valley Conference victory.
Standout senior guards Kai Moon and Myia Starks led the Wildcats (10-4, 4-1). Moon had 22 points, 9 steals and 6 rebounds, and Starks had 20 points and 5 rebounds.
Moon, who also made 9 of 10 free throws, believed she had a single-game personal best for steals.
"Actually, that's what my dad has really been on me about, making a bigger impact defensively," Moon said. "A new year, a new me, I guess. I wasn't happy with the way I played towards the end of the year in 2015. This is my last year so I want to help out my team as much as possible, even if it isn't scoring points."
Neuqua scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter for its biggest lead at 53-32 with 7:03 left, but the Falcons (6-10, 3-4) closed to 62-57 after a three-point play by senior Hannah Swider followed by her layup with 27.4 seconds left. Moon and Starks then sank pairs of free throws in the double bonus.
"We haven't played since (Dec. 22). There are some things we need to shore up defensively. (And) we had a lot of mental mistakes," Neuqua coach Mike Williams said. "Some of that I can attribute to us not having a ton of work over break, but it's a long season. We thought we'd try to give some kids a rest. And other kids are going to have to come through."
That includes Callahan. Her five points in seven seconds began a 14-0 run for a 20-6 lead early in the second quarter. The Wildcats' margin grew to 29-10 but the Falcons cut that to 29-18 by halftime.
After closing to within 10 points midway through the third quarter, the Falcons made one last try with a 25-point fourth quarter that included four 3s by Nikki Baird and two by Emmy Gryna.
Baird finished with 21 points, 18 in the second half. Swider had 14 points and 9 rebounds and Gryna had 11 points and 8 rebounds. Only two of the Falcons' 28 turnovers occurred in the fourth quarter.
"Just too little, too late. When we had our backs against the wall and had to go, we went and it was a great response, but what we would really like to do is start doing that a little bit earlier," Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton said. "Part of it is we're really young. And we did that against a really good team."
Moon had 9 points in the third quarter and Starks had 8 points in the fourth. Megan Keefer added 7 second-half points with two big put backs in the fourth quarter.
Twelve Wildcats played in the first quarter and that's with key junior MaKinzie DeHaan still out under concussion protocol until next week.
"We learned that more than one person can contribute well for the team," Callahan said. "I guess it starts with one person to get the energy up. We have a lot of games where the bench is wild, players on the court are wild."
Wheaton North played without usual starter Sarah Topps (stress fracture) and key reserve Matti Zander (concussion). Both are expected back soon. Freshman Jenna Kortenhoeven made her first start and sophomore Amaya Flowers was promoted earlier in the day to give Eaton 10 healthy players.