Elk Grove gets it right against Wheaton North

On Tuesday, Elk Grove watched a 23-7 lead disappear in a 38-31 loss to Lyons Township in the second round of Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.

So the Grenadiers had to be concerned on Wednesday when tourney host Wheaton North erased a 10-point deficit to tie the game at 18-18 with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

“We were nervous,” admitted Diamond Boyd, who is gold for the Grenadiers’ offense with her 17 ppg. “But obviously we didn’t give up. That’s what matters.

“We learned from Tuesday’s game and vowed that it wouldn’t happen again.”

Sure enough, after going nearly 11 minutes without a point (early second quarter to late in the third), the Grenadiers answered the call and responded with a 39-35 triumph.

Elk Grove (8-5) faces Mid-Suburban League East rival Hersey (6-8) in the fifth-place game today at 4:30 p.m.

Wheaton North (6-8) faces its DuPage Valley Conference rival Glenbard North (8-6) today at 1:30 p.m. for seventh place.

Junior Kelly Naughton drove the middle for a scoop giving Elk Grove a 20-18 advantage with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

The Falcons and Grens traded leads for the next nine minutes before the Grens got ahead for good, breaking a 29-29 tie on 2 free throws by Taylor Brown with 1:58 left.

Boyd then grabbed a deflected ball near the Falcons’ basket and seconds later she scored a layup for a 33-29 lead.

Junior guard Mandy Traversa tossed in a 3-pointer to close the gap to 33-32 before Boyd came up with a big 15-footer from the side to make it 35-32 with 55 seconds left.

“I think that was the biggest shot Diamond hit,” said Grens coach Ryan Kirkorsky of his 5-foot-10 junior standout. “That was a play where you are playing to win rather than lose.”

The Grens then won it at the free throw line as Naughton sank a pair with 32.7 seconds left for a 37-32 lead.

Boyd rebounded a missed Falcons’ shot and was fouled immediately with 22.6 seconds. She hit both free throws for a 39-32 advantage.

Wheaton North got to within the final score when Brooke Schanowski hit a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left.

Falcons coach David Eaton felt part of the reason his team held the Grens scoreless for so long was due to the two teams playing their third game in three days.

“Everyone was a little tired,” he said. “We just didn’t have the same energy we had as the day before against Waubonsie Valley. We were a little tired and just didn’t give the effort we needed.”

Traversa led the Falcons with 9 points while teammates Chrissy Baird, Maddie Baille and Schanowski each chipped in 6.

“I thought Chrissy Baird, being a sophomore and twisting he ankle a little, came back and played well,” Eaton added. “And Mandy Traversa took control for us. Even though her 3-point shot was falling until she hit that big one at the end, she was driving to the basket and creating offense for us.”

The Grens’ offense also got a boost from freshman Amber Lindfors (12 points), Naughton (10), Kari Czeszewski (8) and Melissa Solorio (6).

“We all played together,” Boyd added. “It was a good team effort.”

The Grens trailed 27-26 when Czeszewski hit a 3-pointer for a 29-27 lead with 4:47 left.

“Kari hit some big 3s (another in the first quarter) and our point guard (Naughton) wanted the ball down the stretch and made plays for us,” Kirkorsky said.

“After Tuesday’s game, we talked about having talent but that we were at a point where we needed to learn to win. So I thought this was a huge step in doing that.”