Waubonsie extends winning streak vs. Willowbrook
With two starting frontcourt players on the sidelines with injuries, everyone on the Waubonsie Valley girls basketball team has to contribute a little more these days.
That's exactly what they did Wednesday as Waubonsie's record remained spotless at 13-0 with a 57-45 win over Willowbrook in opening-round play of the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North.
"This tournament will tell us everything about our team," said forward Danielle Brown, who led Waubonsie with 13 points. "We're excited to get some good competition under our belts and prove to everyone else how good we are."
Waubonsie Valley was without injured starters Emily Collins, who's out for the season, and center Rachel Bostick, who's expected to miss two or three more weeks, but the team's depth and experience are carrying them through this challenging period.
On Wednesday it was solid defense and a balanced attack that helped propel Waubonsie to victory.
"We don't have a superstar," said Waubonsie coach Kris Kalivas. "But we have kids willing to fill their roles very well. They work together real well. It's an unselfish group."
"We all average about the same number of points," Brown said. "You can't key on one person. If you do, then someone else steps up. This is a collective team effort. We have a good feel for each other on the court, because many of us have played together since the seventh grade."
Waubonsie opened up a 20-10 lead in the second quarter, but a 3-pointer by Willowbrook's Ashley Kanelos and a three-point play by Taylor Nelson quickly cut the margin to 4 points, but that would be as close as Willowbrook would get.
Waubonsie Valley's 13-4 run increased the lead to 33-21 lead at the half.
Willowbrook (7-7) was plagued by turnovers throughout the game, committing 29, many caused by the Waubonsie defense, while others were due to unforced errors.
"Their defensive pressure caused us difficulties," said Willowbrook coach Troy Nelson. "They got up in our face and we made some bad decisions. In the first half we didn't get the ball to the people who were open."
Waubonsie Valley broke away in the third quarter, as Jessica Morice, scored 6 points in a row to help build a 51-31 at the end of three.
"Our defense looked better in the third quarter," Kalivas said. "We looked to crash the boards a little and contain them defensively."
However, in the final period, Willowbrook hung in there and cut the lead to 9 points on a basket by Colette Williams with 1:30 to go.
Taylor Nelson led Willowbrook with 15.
"I liked the fact we didn't lay down," Troy Nelson said. "We played defense and got some steals and kept the game reasonable. We know we're capable of doing it. We just have to find out what switch to turn on to make them do it for a whole game."
-- Neil Shalin
Glenbard South 63, Elgin 15:ŒIt didn't take long for Glenbard South to impose dominance on Elgin in Wednesday's opening-round game at the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
The Raiders went right to work from the opening tip. They scored the first 6 points, went on a 17-2 opening burst and kept the Maroons from scoring from the run of play for more than five minutes.
Although Glenbard South (10-4) used its entire bench and gave every bench player considerable playing time, there was no way to avoid the score getting out of hand.
"We came in here with a goal to score 60 points and we did," Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said. "Elgin's down this year, and I credit their girls for not giving up and playing hard to the end. But we went in focused, didn't get sloppy and controlled the game."
In its first trip to the Neibch Classic, the Raiders advance in the winner's bracket and face Glenbrook South at 6 p.m. today.
Eleven Raiders scored in the contest, and Grace Squires led the balanced attack with 11 points and 5 rebounds in her first game since returning to practice with an ankle injury she suffered three weeks ago.
"This is a great game for her to come back," Fonda said. "We obviously outsized (Elgin) down low. Grace did a great job using her body and she put some balls back in the hoop."
Kim Schwerdtmann also came off the bench for a strong game. She scored 4 points and had a game-high 7 rebounds.
"She's a gamer," Fonda said. "She's not necessarily a scorer. But she's going to box out and do all those little things that you want out of a scrappy guard."
Caris Allen and Brandi Hernandez scored 6 points apiece to lead Elgin (0-12.)
-- Darryl Mellema
Schaumburg 63, Downers North 21:ΠThe beat goes on at Schaumburg.
Or is that the "beatings?"
The Saxons thrashed yet another opponent, this time in the opening round of Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
The 63-21 win over Downers Grove North kept the Saxons unbeaten at 14-0 and there was never any mystery.
But don't tell that to Schaumburg coach Bill Murmann.
"We're at 14 (wins), but records don't mean anything, quality of play does," he stressed after the victory.
His Saxons hit a high level of quality pretty quickly, getting 13 first-quarter points from Kylie Castans in racing to a 23-9 lead that would never be challenged.
Everything clicked. Castans and Drewann Pancratz took turns leading the fastbreak for opportunity buckets. Point guard Taylor Kosla keyed the defensive pressure that forced 18 first-half turnovers.
Gabrielle Blackwell and Gryte Satas controlled the inside, combining for 15 points and helping the Saxons outrebound the Trojans 15-7 in the first half and 28-15 overall.
Everyone got to play and Sarah Kellermeyer and Sarah McGinn scored 4 points apiece.
Junior forward Missy Blazej paced the Trojans (6-8) with 7 points.
Schaumburg will take on Hersey at 7:30 p.m. today in a quarterfinal matchup.
--Howard Schlossberg Glenbrook South 49, St. Charles East 37:ŒThe last time St. Charles East lost a girls basketball game this season, it was playing tournament basketball against Glenbrook South.
Wednesday, the Saints returned to tournament play and fell a second time this season to the Titans. But similarities between the games end there -- largely due to the improved play of the Saints.
St. Charles East fell 49-37 to Glenbrook South in opening round opening round play at the Wheaton North Bill Neibch Classic. The loss ended a seven-game Saints winning streak.
"Glenbrook South plays a very 'in your face' style of defense," St. Charles coach Lori Drumtra said. "You don't get that open look you think because they switch, which is smart."
St. Charles East (8-5) faces Elgin in opening round play in the consolation bracket on noon today. A year ago, the Saints emerged from the Neibch Classic as consolation champions.
"We've definitely improved," St. Charles East sophomore Jaime Rust said. "Our defense has improved. It didn't show this game. But we're trying our best and we know we'll get better through this tournament."
The game turned on Glenbrook South's superior inside play. Caitlin Staniec led all scorers with 23 points and no one on either team had such a dominant offensive performance.
"I went to the zone, but I felt like they were hitting too many of their outside shots," Drumtra said. "We went back to the man, and we didn't really have anybody who could stop her."
Jaime Rust got free for 12 St. Charles East points, most of those from close range and a number of those shots against Staniec.
"It was rough," Rust said. "It was hard to execute our plays because they switched a lot. But we tried to stay tough. I don't think we executed very well."
Like a number of her teammates, Rust appeared frustrated at times in the game, and the appearance was accurate.
"It was very frustrating," Rust said. "We weren't fully executing our plays. It seemed like we were a little slow today."
Rust was hampered with foul trouble. She picked up her third and fourth fouls in the third quarter, when Glenbrook South surged from a 27-27 tie to take a 41-29 lead heading into the final quarter.
"I put (Rust) in the game in the fourth quarter because we needed her," Drumtra said. "She did a good job of not fouling out and I was glad to see that."
-- Darryl Mellema
Hersey 55, West Aurora 37: Over the years Hersey has done very well at Wheaton North.
Actually, the Huskies have done better than that.
They were 17-3 in the last five years with two tournament championships.
Hersey notched another victory in the Classic on Wednesday when it pulled away from West Aurora in the fourth quarter.
"We tend to do well in this tournament," Hersey coach Mary Fendley said. "We're happy to be back in the winner's bracket."
For a team that plays 15 of its opening 16 games away from home, the four-game stretch at Wheaton North is as close to a homestand as the Huskies will get before 2008.
Kelly Rogowski scored a game-high 26 points as the Huskies (4-8) were the only unseeded winners Wednesday. They face top-seed Schaumburg at 7:30 p.m. today.
"We're comfortable here," Fendley said. "We looked comfortable tonight."
The Huskies used a stifling defense to outscore the Blackhawks (6-6) 15-1 in the fourth quarter and blow open a 4-point game.
"We sensed that they were a little tired," Fendley said. "We wanted to take advantage of that. Our conditioning is pretty good. Our press really hurt them."
Sensing an opportunity to go for the kill, Hersey applied a killer press, which forced 12 fourth quarter turnovers and limited the Blackhawks to 0-3 fourth quarter shooting.
Rogowski took greatest advantage of the chances afforded her in the game. After only hitting a 3-pointer in the first quarter, the junior got hot and never cooled off.
"She started off slow with the scoring but the turned it around," Fendley said.
Sarah Stoltzner and Megan Rogowski scored 10 points apiece to give the Huskies offensive depth that West Aurora was unable to match.
"They just played together tonight," Fendley said. "Our last two games, we're starting to click together a little better."
-- Darryl Mellema
Wheaton North 54, Jacobs 30:ŒMichelle Scandora scored 12 points to lead the host Falcons to the win at the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic. Wheaton North led 17-8 at halftime.
Hinsdale Central 39, Glenbard North 18:ŒToni Kokenis led all scorers with 13 points as the second-seeded Red Devils won at the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North.