Naperville North has a fun night
Naperville North gave itself a lot to cheer about Thursday night against Neuqua Valley.
The Huskies cheered their seniors during a pregame Senior Night ceremony, and they kept on cheering throughout a 66-32 DuPage Valley Conference girls basketball victory.
They cheered when senior Kaitlyn Castillo's basket in the second quarter gave the Huskies a 29-12 lead.
They cheered when senior Kendall McCauley assisted senior Celette Drummond with a nice bounce pass in the lane in the third quarter.
They cheered when senior Emma Anderson assisted junior Kara Rivard for a fourth-quarter 3-pointer.
They cheered senior Avery Kotrba's free throw in the fourth quarter.
And they went wild when senior Sarah Smith knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minute.
"That felt amazing," Smith said. "That was really exciting because I haven't gotten to play this whole year and I was just really glad and thankful that my coaches put me in. I just let it fly and it felt good. Yeah, it was really exciting."
The Huskies (17-9, 8-0) - including senior Amanda Johnson - could smile over completing a perfect run through the DVC.
"It means so much to us, especially for us seniors and especially on Senior Night," said Anderson, who scored in the first quarter. "To cap this off on this night and to cap off these four years has been really amazing."
The Huskies also feel good about winning nine of their last 10 games heading into next week's Class 4A Bolingbrook regional.
"We just have really good team chemistry," Smith said. "Everyone's always in the game, from starters to people coming off the bench to our actual bench. We're always in the game and it's always really exciting."
The seniors overshadowed continued strong performances by Rivard and sophomore Greta Kampschroeder. Both came off the bench in deference to seniors. Kampschroeder scored a game-high 28 points with 16 rebounds. Rivard poured in 17 points with 5 assists and 4 steals.
"She does a lot of little things that people don't always notice, with hustle plays and deflections," Huskies coach Jason Dycus said of Rivard. "She's so gritty and tough and she'll create a shot for somebody else just because of her determination. And I love that she hit some outside shots tonight too."
Claudia Gallegos led Neuqua Valley (13-15, 2-6) with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
"Claudia played a great second half," Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. "I thought she was a little timid early on."