Wheaton North proud of effort

One thing Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton will never question — whether his girls will compete, regardless of the opponent.

Saturday was no different.

The Falcons hung with Morgan Park for close to three quarters, eventually succumbing 57-38 at the 22nd McDonald’s Shootout in Villa Park.

Wheaton North (9-10) trailed just 30-27 late in the third quarter but lost starting point guard Reilly Stewart when her head hit the floor trying to take a charge and was forced out with a possible concussion.

With Wheaton North short-handed Morgan Park (13-6) closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run. Like Wheaton North’s game with Waubonsie Valley at its holiday tournament, the Falcons gave a better team all it could handle.

“We were right there — we were close,” Eaton said. “It was like Waubonsie. We were right there at the end and had a shot.”

Wheaton North limited Morgan Park’s Toledo-bound senior Kendyll Nunn to 10 points, but two Mustangs freshmen hurt the Falcons. Six-foot Marsha Howard had 9 points and 11 rebounds, and Tammy Russell 8 points and 13 boards, 15 of the freshmen’s 17 points coming in the second half.

“It was unusual that neither of them were in foul trouble today, so were able to play them together,” said Morgan Park coach TJ Johnson, whose team won its eighth straight. “They are both 14 years old, so you can’t trust them, but they came up big for us today.”

Wheaton North’s own young pup, sophomore Chrissy Baird, had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and she led a 22-11 edge on the boards in the first half which helped the Falcons stay within 22-18 at the break. But Morgan Park turned the tables rebounding after that, winning the battle underneath 27-17. Nineteen Mustangs offensive rebounds led to 17 second-chance points.

“Rebounding was something we talked about quite a bit at halftime,” Johnson said.

Morgan Park was considered a contender in Class 3A before the season but lost Division I recruit Gabrielle Richmond to an ACL injury weeks in. Saturday’s helter-skelter pace certainly favored the Mustangs, who might have worn down Wheaton North while forcing 25 turnovers.

“We’ll go anyway you want to go,” Johnson said, “we’ll play slow — but we want to play fast. That’s the way we would prefer to play.”

Mandy Traversa added 7 points and 10 rebounds, Maddie Baillie 7 points and freshman Emari Jones 5 for Wheaton North. Jones’ basket kept Wheaton North within 41-34 with 5:31 before a 7-0 Mustangs run all but put things away.

“This team works hard, they really do,” Eaton said. “I kind of thought we would have to play a perfect game to beat them, and we didn’t do that. But we gave them all they could handle for 30 of the 32 minutes. The final score might not indicate it, but I thought the girls played well.”