DuPage wrap: Hinsdale Central 48, Naperville Central 38
Naperville Central never made it all the way back from its poor start against Hinsdale Central.
The Redhawks overcame their first-half struggles and trailed by only 3 points with less than a minute to go in the game before falling 48-38 to Hinsdale Central in Tuesday's Class 4A Neuqua Valley girls basketball sectional semifinal.
"Not coming out with the intensity and the heart you need to win the game really hurts you in the end," said Naperville Central guard Kelley Hendrick, who picked up three quick fouls in the first half but engineered the late comeback that nearly caught the top-seeded Red Devils.
The Redhawks (23-10), who came into the game having won nine of their last 11, looked nervous and tentative, falling behind 9-2 in the first quarter.
Hinsdale Central (32-1) showed superior strength and poise in building the lead to 21-7 toward the end of the second period.
A 5-point run brought the Redhawks to within single digits at the half and gave them something to build on after the break.
"We noticed in the first half that they wanted to win more than we did," Hendrick said. "We weren't playing like we usually did and we knew that this could be our last game."
"We started ball-screening quite a bit and getting the ball in Kelley's hands," said Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum. "She was able to get some layups and she was able to dish the ball off to Claire (Fleming) and Jessica (Carter) for baskets."
The Redhawks went to a faster tempo and outscored the Red Devils 13-11 in the third period.
A putback by Lisa Lawrence and a pair of foul shots by Emma Ondik at the beginning of the fourth quarter brought the Redhawks to within 3 points for the first of four times late in the game.
But the Red Devils kept the lead, helped by 3-pointers by Anne Mullin and Toni Kokenis.
After Ondik's two free throws narrowed the gap to 41-38 with less than a minute remaining, the Redhawks had to keep fouling to stop the clock and regain possession. Hinsdale Central hit 7 of 8 free throws in that final minute to produce the 48-38 final score.
"We were lucky escaping," said Hinsdale Central coach Steve Gross. "They kept attacking and we let our mistakes effect us at both ends of the floor. In the second half we had that nervous sort of fatigue. It didn't look like we were moving very well and we didn't run our break very well."
"Their zone was hurting us," Kokenis said. "We were forcing things instead of waiting for a good shot."
Kokenis led three Red Devils in double-figure scoring with 13 points. Katie Delaney, who also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, and Madison Whitley each finished with 11 points.
Hendrick's 10 points were high for the Redhawks. Carter led with 9 rebounds and Lawrence had 8 boards and 3 blocked shots.
"We were down by 21-7 and people were heading to the exits," Nussbaum said. "And the kids didn't quit. That's a tribute to them."
-- Neil Shalin
Boys basketball
Glenbard South 73, Fenton 70:ŒAs the scoring took off like a runaway train, Glenbard South had no other choice.
The Raiders had to hop aboard.
In the face of a torrid shooting night by Fenton, Glenbard South kept pace and then some in a 73-70 nonconference boys basketball victory over the Bison on Tuesday in Bensenville.
"It wasn't one of our better efforts," said Raiders coach Wade Hardtke. "Seventy points is way too many, so we've got some work to do."
It's not the way either side planned it, but the high-scoring contest swung in favor of both teams before Glenbard South finally claimed the lead for good at 70-67 with 1:13 left.
Trailing 65-62 after a 3-pointer by Fenton's Damian Sieradzki, Glenbard South answered with Brian Baranyi's 3-pointer and a bucket by Andy Manson that tied the score at 67-67.
Manson then converted a three-point play to put the Raiders ahead to stay at 70-67. Overcoming 3-of-6 free-throw shooting down the stretch and a near-miss on a late Fenton 3-pointer, Glenbard South (14-10) claimed its sixth win in eight games.
"It wasn't our best defensive effort, but we battled at the end," said Manson, who finished with a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. "We normally play better defense, but we're a little soft right now. It's something we'll definitely need to pick up before next week."
Next week meaning the Class 3A playoffs, which begin for both teams. Fenton (11-14) also didn't like the score ending up in the 70s, but it wound up happening for the fifth time this season and for the third time in the last four games.
While the trio of Sieradzki, Billy Gratzl and Gozie Umeadi combined for 60 of the Bison's 70 points, it still wasn't enough. Louis Erkins tallied 16 points and Will Hill added 10 points for Glenbard South.
Fenton trailed 35-23 late in the second quarter but rallied to a 59-54 lead early in the fourth. The Bison knocked down 9 of 11 third-quarter field goals and shot 58 percent for the game.
The Bison held Glenbard South scoreless for 4:26 before the Raiders exploded back in the game in the final 5:30 of the fourth quarter.
"We had an opportunity at the end of the third quarter where, if we played another strong quarter, we had a chance to keep it out of the 70s," said Fenton coach Dennis Cromer. "But we didn't quite get the job done."
-- Kevin Schmit
York 50, Hinsdale South 46: York, which led the West Suburban Conference crossover 18-12 at halftime, held on to win in Elmhurst. Roger Coffin scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. Steve Ganser scored 10 for York (18-8). Carl Fiebig scored his 10 points all in the fourth quarter for Hinsdale South (13-11). The Hornets' Karl Ploger scored 11 and Eric Travis added 10.