With Feltes on boards, Wheaton North coasts to victory
A.K. Feltes wears jersey No. 22 in honor of a former great rebounder at Wheaton North.
Annie Bowen - who now sports the number while pulling down rebounds for Wheaton College - would have been very proud to see Feltes in action Thursday night at Naperville North.
The 5-foot-10 junior pulled in a personal-high 22 rebounds and also scored 18 points as the Falcons knocked off the Huskies 72-53 in DuPage Valley Conference girls basketball action.
With Feltes and Lauren Graham strong inside and Fantasia Vine coming up with flashes of greatness all over the court, the host Huskies (4-12, 3-3) struggled at the outset and never fully recovered from a 22-8 hole after one quarter.
"When me, Lauren and 'Tasia are all on, we're pretty good," said Feltes, who credits her 6-foot wingspan and box-out technique with her gaudy rebound totals of late. "But it's not just us three. It was a team effort tonight and everybody stepped up."
Graham opened the scoring with a three-point play and followed with another basket inside for a quick 5-0 lead. Vine, who exploded for 13 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter, followed with 3- and 2-point baskets and the Falcons (8-7, 4-10) led 10-0 to start the game.
The Huskies, who were paced by 17 points and 3 steals from Shannon Bushman, battled to the end but couldn't overcome the slow start. Zoe Swift and some box-and-one defense helped contain Vine after the first quarter, but Naperville North then couldn't seem to stop Feltes and Graham inside.
"The first quarter killed us," Huskies coach Jacquie Discipio said. "We're not good enough to play three quarters and win."
Wheaton North led 32-18 at the half as Vine tallied 15 points and Feltes had 6 points and 12 rebounds. With Bushman, Bria Walker and Colleen Warren sparking the Huskies offense in the second half, the hosts stayed within striking distance for much of the second half but never cut the lead to single digits.
"A couple times we got to within 10 or 12 but couldn't quite make that emotional push," Discipio said. It didn't help that Feltes was single-handedly matching the Huskies team in rebounds and that the Falcons turned several second chances into baskets.
"When Graham and A.K. play well inside and Fantasia's doing it on the perimeter we can be pretty tough," Falcons coach David Eaton said. "A.K. prides herself in rebounding and she does a great job."
Walker had a pair of 3s and made 8 of 11 free throws to tally 16 points for Naperville North, with Warren scoring all 7 of her points in the second half. Maddie Baillie had 12 points as one of four Falcons to score in double figures.