Waubonsie Valley works quickly

Waubonsie Valley used a fast start from the early onset against Naperville North on Tuesday night and never looked back.

The Warriors jumped out to a 23-4 first-quarter lead on the strength of a 17-0 run to start the game, leading to a 61-43 victory over the visiting Huskies during the Warhawk Thanksgiving Tournament.

It was a quarter that Naperville North coach Jacquie Discipio would have loved to have back.

They outscored us 23-4 in that quarter and that's tough for any team to overcome," Discipio said. "When you look at the game as a whole, we were competitive for three quarters, but the first quarter was horrific."

Waubonsie Valley (2-0) jumped all over the visitors early in the contest as Tami Morice scored 11 points in the first eight minutes, including nine during the 17-0 run.

"Basketball is a game of runs," Waubonsie Valley coach Kim Connell said. "It was a nice cushion because we tend to have those lapses where we don't make good decisions whether offensively or defensively."

The Warriors forced 7 Huskies turnovers in the first quarter.

"Probably our overall strength, since this group has been sophomores, has been our defense," Connell said.

Naperville North finally got on the board with a Kayla Sharples free throw at the 1:43 mark of the first quarter. The Huskies' only field goal in that quarter came off a short jumper by Candice Gustafson.

The Huskies switched to a box-and-one defense to start the second quarter, which gave the Warriors fits at times.

"The box-and-one slowed us down a bit," Morice said. "But we were able to start off well and get the win."

Up 17 to start the second half, the Warriors extended the lead on a 12-2 run to start the third quarter. A fastbreak layup by Gratia Brooks and subsequent free throw made the score 44-17 with two minutes left in the third.

Naperville North cut the lead down to 20 on 3-pointers by Kathleen Hahne, Morganne Freeman and Shannon Bushman, whose half-court shot banked off the backboard and into the basket just as the third-quarter buzzer sounded.

The Huskies got no closer than 17 in the fourth quarter. Bushman led all scorers with 20 points, while Morice led the Warriors with 17, one of four starters in double figures including Rachael Ross, Brooks and Erica Jordan.