Brownridge breaks out for Waubonsie Valley

With all seven members of the newly formed Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division emerging from Thanksgiving tournament action with records of .500 or better, the opening weekend of the conference season was the first chance to make a statement to the league brethren.

Speaking loudest at Waubonsie Valley on Friday night was Warriors sophomore guard Jared Brownridge, who notched a team-high 21 points in the home team's 52-39 victory over South Elgin. Brownridge's biggest contribution on the night was the pair of 3-pointers he hit in a 62-second span late in the third quarter that helped the Warriors (4-1, 1-0) turn a tight three-point game into a 40-27 lead.

"We felt sparked and the team was combining together really well," Brownridge said of the decisive 10-0 run that bridged the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. "Coach told us to get ready to defend, and that led to the baskets."

On the other bench South Elgin coach Chaz Taft liked how his squad had held Brownridge to just 2-of-7 shooting and 6 points until the game's pivotal juncture, but he also knew any type of defensive letdown could lead to problems.

"We knew Brownridge was a shooter, but we had some mental breakdowns and he made some open 3-pointers, and we knew he could do that," Taft said.

There was plenty of grinding from both sides through three quarters as neither squad could put any offensive consistency together. The Warriors did open a 19-9 lead on Tyler Yanisch's 3-pointer early in the second quarter, but the Storm (2-3, 0-1) battled back to trail just 23-20 at the half thanks to Sammy Sutter's 9 second-quarter points. Sutter's 3-pointer pulled South Elgin within 30-27 with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, but that just set the stage for Brownridge's outburst, with complementary baskets from Jakobi Johnson and Tyler Edmondson.

South Elgin never got closer than 11 the rest of the way as the Warriors knocked down 6 straight free throws.

"Jared made shots, the guards created for him and when you make shots it gets you going," said Warriors coach Steve Weemer. "We also got some good play off the bench. Brandon Malby stepped up and did a nice job; it was a good team win."

Both teams are back at it tonight with Waubonsie Valley hosting Naperville Central and South Elgin welcoming high-scoring Ryan Boatright and East Aurora for its home opener.