Girls basketball: Downers Grove North tops Hinsdale Central, clinches West Suburban Conference Silver title

Downers Grove North’s opponents know they can’t get behind the Trojans early, who always seem to get out of the gate fast.

How do the Trojans do it?

“I think it’s our energy,” Downers North junior guard Campbell Thulin said. “We play music on the bus.

“We bring a speaker in the locker room. It’s a fun environment, and we’re all having fun together and getting hyped up before the game.”

The Trojans did it again on Friday night, holding host Hinsdale Central scoreless for over five minutes while scoring the first eight points of the game. Downers North led 12-2 after the first quarter and rolled to a 48-32 victory.

It was the 11th consecutive win for the Trojans, who clinched the West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship. After losing to Glenbard West 60-47 in the second league game of the season, Downers North (25-2, 11-1) won its next 10.

“I thought we came in ready,” Downers North coach Stephan Bolt said. “I was proud of the kids.

“They made the right basketball plays, found each other and shared the ball. It was fun basketball to watch.”

For the Trojans, it was fun to play. Thulin assisted freshman guard Eva Yerkovich’s 3-pointer on the game’s opening possession.

Yerkovich returned the favor the next time down the floor as Thulin sank the first of her four 3-pointers. Thulin later added a layup off a steal by senior Ady Fanta for an 8-0 lead.

Thulin scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the first half to help stake the Trojans to a 29-12 halftime lead and fed Fanta for a layup early in the third quarter to give the visitors their biggest lead, 33-12. Thulin also had a game-high nine rebounds to go with three assists and three steals.

Fanta, a Northern Michigan recruit, added 12 points, five boards, three assists and two steals. Yerkovich contributed seven points, five boards and three steals, while senior center Liz Murphy chipped in six points and five rebounds, and sophomore guard Caitlin Sandridge five points and six rebounds.

This is the second Silver title in three years for the Trojans.

“This is a special team that we have,” Fanta said. “I’ve played with some of these girls since I was in fourth grade, so I feel like we’ve always been together, and it’s just fun to end on a conference championship with them.”

The Trojans beat the Red Devils (18-10, 7-5) with their usual blend of terrific defense, great ball movement and judicious shot selection.

“If there is a better half-court defensive team in the area, I have not seen them play,” Hinsdale Central coach Brett Moore said. “They are really good defensively.

“They came out and hit some shots early. We finally got scoring a little bit in the second and third quarters and they went cold for a little bit, but we never could get it super close.

“It’s just really hard when they give almost no free looks at all in the half court.”

Adriana Giannini scored 12 points and Katherine Skinner added nine points for the Red Devils, including a layup that cut the deficit to 37-24 at the 7:28 mark of the fourth quarter.

But Hinsdale Central got no closer.

“It’s really important to us,” Thulin said of the league title. “It’s a tribute to how hard we work.

“We practice hard, we push each other hard and all throughout the season I think we’ve continued to play hard. We have a tough conference, so it’s a really big accomplishment.”

But not their main goal, which is to reach the state finals for the first time in program history.

“This gets us even more motivated for playoffs and to be ready to play like that,” Thulin said. “We’re super excited, but we can’t get complacent, so we’re going to celebrate the win tonight and then get after it tomorrow morning (against Lincoln-Way West).”

The Trojans, who are seeded second behind Nazareth at the Class 4A Hinsdale Central Sectional, are highly motivated.

“We all really want it and we’re really clicking in practice,” Thulin said. “Everyone is making an environment that is we want to get better. Nobody is there just to be there, and it’s really fun. I feel like we’re just starting to figure things out.”

The Trojans have beaten the Red Devils three times this season. The teams could meet in the sectional semifinals if the sixth-seeded Red Devils can upset third-seeded Kenwood in a regional final.

“If we play them a fourth time in the sectional,” Moore said, “I’ll be happy to do it.”