Girls basketball: Waubonsie Valley wins third straight Neibch title
At this point, some might say Waubonsie Valley needs to find a tougher holiday tournament than the Bill Neibch Holiday Classic at Wheaton North. But there’s more to it than simply playing in the tournament named for the father of Waubonsie Valley athletic director Chris Neibch.
“It's just something that we believe that we get a lot of different variety of teams,” Waubonsie Valley coach Brett Love said. “It may not be the best competition right now because we are one of the best teams, but it does what it's supposed to do.”
The simplest reason for the Warriors to stick around the tournament though is that they keep winning it. This they did for the third straight year with a 70-40 win over Glenbrook South on Saturday.
The Warriors (15-0) were tied with the Titans (11-5) at 12 after the first quarter. With their starting lineup still on the floor though, the Warriors pulled away in the second quarter with a 21-10 scoring advantage and never looked back.
Tournament MVP Danyella Mporokoso capped an impressive week with 11 points and nine rebounds. However, she took a back seat in this game to fellow all-tournament selections Arianna Garcia-Evans, who had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Maya Pereda, who scored 15 of her 17 points on five 3-pointers.
Elliana Morris scored 11 points in the second half, nine on three 3s, and Taylnn Heard flirted with a double-double with eight points and a game-high 13 boards.
“I think it shows that there's so much talent, said Mporokoso, who averaged a tournament-high 27.5 points a game. “It isn't it was one or two or three players. It goes a long way. It goes back to how hard you practice, how hard you play. And it helps us.”
All-tournament selection Niki Davorija paced the Titans with 12 points, eight of which came in the first quarter. She fouled out in the final minute of the third.
Brea Morrison also made the all-tournament team for Glenbrook South. While she led her team with nine rebounds in the title game, her scoring was limited to a single 3-pointer during the fourth quarter.
Riley Des Groseilliers came off the bench for the Titans and scored nine points on three 3s over the second and third quarters.
Earlier in the day, Downers Grove North won the third-place game over Hinsdale Central, 28-15.
Glenbard South earned a 50-24 win over Wheaton North in the fifth-place game, Palatine squeaked by Glenbard North in the seventh-place game, 47-45, and Jacobs took ninth with a 41-36 win over Schaumburg.
West Aurora lost to De La Salle in the 11th-place game, 53-27, and Willowbrook took 13th place against Elk Grove, 57-39.
Among others on the all-tournament team were Wheaton North’s Brea Moore, Downers Grove North’s Campbell Thulin, Hinsdale Central’s Katie Coffey, Glenbard South’s Rheayanna Ferguson and Palatine’s Grace Klin