Neuqua's Miskel has 'special' night

Neuqua Valley senior Regi Miskel wanted to make sure Tuesday was a special night, so he put in a little extra shooting prior to the Wildcats' nonconference game with visiting Plainfield Central.

The extra work sure paid off. Miskel exploded for 14 points in the first half on 7-of-7 shooting and helped Neuqua (19-7) score 30 points in the second quarter en route to a 75-40 win in Naperville.

"That was my best half. I came out energized," said Miskel, who got the start on senior night. "Before coming here I stopped at the 'Y' and I put up a lot of shots. I wanted tonight to be special. My shot was just on."

Plainfield Central (6-14) led 10-9 late in the first quarter, but from there the Neuqua Valley pressure defense took over on one end of the floor and helped the offense have a field day on the other end.

An 18-0 run gave the hosts a 27-10 lead midway through the second quarter and that was all she wrote.

Miskel finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Fellow post player Dan Pawelski added 14 points and 4 assists, and Derek Raridon put down a trio of 3s to tally 15 points. In all, 11 different Neuqua Valley Wildcats scored.

Tim Gilbert and Mike Bumber each scored 8 points to pace Plainfield Central, which turned the ball over 31 times.

-- Stan Goff

Bartlett 79, Glenbard North 51: Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith knows his team can be really streaky on the offensive end.

The Hawks showed that against Glenbard North.

They missed 8 shots in the first quarter before missing 4 combined during the second and third quarters.

That hot shooting turned a 1-point game into a rout as Bartlett defeated the Panthers 79-51.

"We're a rhythm team," Wolfsmith said. "When we're in rhythm offensively we can score a lot of points in lots of different places on the floor."

Bartlett (16-6) shot 4 of 12 in the opening quarter, allowing Glenbard North (4-16) to stay close. The Panthers were within 13-12 with 6:50 remaining in the second quarter after James Fleming hit 2 free throws.

Bartlett then took over. The Hawks went on a 17-0 run over the next 3½ minutes to take a 30-12 lead. By halftime Bartlett led 42-19.

Marc Little and Luke Labedski did most of the damage. Little scored 11 points, had 3 steals and dished out 3 assists in the quarter.

Labedski had 9 points, including a 5-point play with 1:41 remaining in the quarter. He hit a 3-pointer and was fouled well after the shot, the Panthers' ninth foul of the half, giving Labedski 2 free throws. The sophomore hit both.

"I felt good," said Labedski, who finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting. "Marc was able to get me the ball a lot. I was able to make the shot in good rhythm."

The Hawks shot 11 of 14 from the field in the quarter, while the Panthers went 2 of 12.

"We called a timeout when we were down 7 and it went from 7 to 18 in a minute and a half, it seemed like," Glenbard North coach Erin Dwyer said.

Bartlett increased the lead to 32 by scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the second half. The lead grew to 67-30 at the end of third quarter. The Hawks shot 7 of 8 from the floor in the quarter. The only miss was an alley-oop dunk attempt by Cory Hrynyk.

"We started hitting our shots and picking up the tempo," Labedski said. "We just got really into it."

Marko Govedarica led the Panthers with 11 points. Fleming added 10.

Little finished with 19 points, all in the second and third quarters. The junior hit 7 of his 9 shots. He added 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

-- Brian Schaumburg

Timothy Christian 47, Montini 41: Winning for the fourth time in five games, host Timothy rallied from a 30-28 deficit after three quarters to win the nonconference game in Elmhurst. Peter Tameling scored 12 points with 8 rebounds and Andrew Logan scored 11 points to pace the Trojans (12-12). Montini (9-14) was led by Anthony Blashewski's 18 points.

Girls basketball

Batavia 49, Glenbard South 43:ŒNothing is more important in tight ballgames than free-throw shooting.

The one aspect of the game that anyone can practice proved its worth for Batavia against Glenbard South in Tuesday night's game when the Bulldogs won 49-43.

Batavia shot 16 of 21 from the foul line for the game, and Natalie Tarter was a perfect 8 of 8 herself, with 6 of those free throws coming in the final period.

Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said the Bulldogs (20-4, 12-1) have been taking advantage of free points on the line.

"We have been shooting outstanding from the line all season long," DeBruycker said. "We are one of the better free-throw shooting teams in the area. We shoot lights out, and tonight we needed to make our free throws and get all the points we can. I think the reason we shoot so well is because we have confidence in ourselves once we get to the line."

The Raiders, on the other hand, did not fare as well as Batavia from the free-throw line.

Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said it was free-throw shooting that the Raiders really worked on during practice this week, but ironically, it was the foul line that hurt Glenbard South as the Raiders shot 9 of 19.

The game seemed like it was going to be put out of reach when the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to open a 37-30 lead with just under six minutes remaining. But the Raiders (17-8, 7-5) did not roll over, responding with an 8-0 run, grabbing the lead on a Meghan Pipal free throw with just under 3:30 remaining. That lead was the second lead of the game for the Raiders who led after scoring the games first basket.

Batavia led 39-38 when sophomore guard Sara Fruendt decided to hit some tough shots. First it was a 3-pointer from the top of the key and then the next possession it was Fruendt again hitting a 15-footer, putting the Bulldogs up 6 and not allowing the Raiders to get back in the game.

"Those were some really gutsy shots for a young player," DeBruycker said.

In a milestone moment, Glenbard South's Danielle Pipal became the third Raider to score 1,000 career points when she sank a free throw with 4:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Pipal, a senior playing her last home game, finished with a team-high 11 points to put her at 1,004 points.

"I was pressing a little I guess," Pipal said. "I found out three days ago that I was this close to the milestone. I think I just pushed too much early on to try to make it happen earlier in the game."

"She really deserved this," said Fonda, whom Pipal passed four games ago on the Raiders' all-time scoring list. "She has worked so hard to get to this point. It's pretty cool to coach a player like her. She deserves everything she has accomplished because of the work she put in."

Kara Lydon scored a game-high 12 points in the win.

-- Jason Watt

St. Charles North 54, Downers Grove South 37:ŒPerhaps no other game is more emotional to a high school athlete than senior night.

So it should come as no surprise that there were plenty of cameras flashing and even a tear or two shed at St. Charles North.

However, the smiles definitely overshadowed the tears during the North Stars' 54-37 nonconference victory over visiting Downers Grove South (13-13).

"It hit us at the beginning -- we were real sad," said Caitlin Winkelman, who was one of six St. Charles North seniors playing their final home game.

"We kind of tried not to think about it, but I think it hits us more now that (senior night) is over."

Winkelman was one of four North Stars (19-5) to finish in double figures with 10 points, joined by fellow senior guard Nika Sircher, who poured in a team-leading 12 points along with 5 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds.

Celebrating the occasion, North Stars coach Katie Sauber sent an all-senior starting lineup to the court with Kara Johnston, Lauren Klopmeyer and Stephanie Horton joining Sircher and Winkelman.

"It was just great to play with all my best friends," said Winkelman. "We've been together since freshman year. We were so pumped to get to play together."

While the Mustangs grabbed a 16-15 first-quarter lead, St. Charles North quickly took control during an 18-3 surge that left it with a 33-19 halftime advantage.

Sophomore guard Kiley Hackbarth and junior center Kelsey Smith, normally key cogs in the North Stars' starting lineup, came off the bench to score 6 points each in the second quarter.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lynn Mueller and Gianna Pecora enabled the Mustangs to pull within 8 at 33-25 during the first 2 minutes of the third quarter.

Another 3-pointer -- one of 8 made by Downers Grove South -- from Annie Brashaw cut the deficit to 37-30 midway through the third period.

"We knew their perimeter game could be tough if we weren't playing tight," Sauber said.

From that point on, however, the Mustangs made just 2 more field goals as the North Stars extended their lead to as much as 54-34 late in the game.

"We do well with that game," Downers South coach Mike McGinnis said of his team's 22 3-point attempts. "Tonight, we didn't do as well with it but we knew we weren't going to get a lot inside."

The North Stars' final highlight of the night came when senior Annie Bialek entered the game for the final minute. Bialek had not played since suffering a shoulder injury at Dundee-Crown in December.

"It was a nice game for them to have on senior night," said Sauber. "It's bittersweet because I've had all these girls for three years."

-- Craig Brueske

Lake Park 74, East Aurora 45: Lake Park (19-7, 7-2) stormed to a 20-14 first-quarter lead in the Upstate Eight Conference contest in Aurora. Samantha Arnold scored a game-high 33 points, followed by Carly Willert and Marissa Pasquini with 10 points apiece.

Neuqua Valley 49, Larkin 35: In an Upstate Eight Conference game, Neuqua Valley (13-13, 5-4) outscored Larkin 24-13 in the second half in Naperville. Viv Kindt and Raquel Davis led the Wildcats in scoring with 8 points apiece.