Girls basketball: Noble scores 22, helps Glenbard West pull away from St. Charles East
Junior forward Ellie Noble scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to lift Glenbard West (22-3) to a 56-41 nonconference girls basketball victory over St. Charles East Tuesday night in Glen Ellyn.
Carrying a 37-31 advantage into the fourth quarter, the Hilltoppers used a 12-3 run in the first 4-plus minutes of the period to help pull away from the Saints (14-9).
Junior Sophia Evans, who finished with 8 points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench, tallied the first 5 points of the final quarter, including back-to-back putbacks, to make it 42-31.
Nina Hendricksen (9 points) added a 3-point play, Addison Long sank a pair of free throws, and Noble’s scoop layup capped the run and gave the Hilltoppers a 49-33 lead midway through the quarter.
“It was very exciting,” said Noble, who added 8 rebounds while playing all 32 minutes. “It was a great team effort. No matter how many minutes you’re getting, I feel like everybody is making an impact. Everybody is working together to get the win.”
Junior guard Katie Meehan added 8 points for the Hilltoppers, who pocketed their second victory in 3 meetings against the Saints in a 12-month span.
“I feel like we have a lot of depth,” said Glenbard coach Kristi Faulkner. “It’s great to have that versatility. Defensively, we have five girls on the floor who really work together and play as a unit.”
Noble led the way despite facing a tough defensive assignment against Saints sophomore Brooklyn Schilb.
“She does so much for us,” Faulkner said of Noble. “Ellie just played really hard and smart. She did a great job on both ends of the floor tonight.
“It’s fun to be home — we had a nice crowd. Every game, we’re just trying to get a little better. These tough games prepare us for the postseason.”
Brooklyn Schilb led the Saints with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and a pair of blocked shots, supported by her sister, senior Addie Schilb (9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals), and sophomore guard Kathlyn Bainbridge (8 points, 6 rebounds).
“We kept battling,” said Saints coach Katie Claussner. “We made some spurts, but we just couldn’t hit a shot. There were several threes where I kept thinking, ‘if that went in, that momentum would have been ours.’”
Trailing 21-16 at halftime, the Saints fell behind by 10 at 26-16 in the early stages of the second half before going on a 12-2 surge to tie it at 28-28 on Bainbridge’s 3-pointer with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
From there, the Hilltoppers answered with a 9-3 run of their own that included 5 consecutive points from Noble and Meehan’s baseline driving layup to make it 37-31 after 3 quarters.
“I think we played solid halfcourt defense, and then they’d miss a shot, we didn’t box out, and they got an easy bucket off a second chance,” said Claussner. “That kills our momentum on defense.
“They’re (the Hilltoppers) a great team. We love playing hard competition. More than likely, we’re going to see them again.”