Glenbard North switches brackets

John Chamberlain estimated it's been 6-7 years since Glenbard North last won a first-round game at the Bill Neibch Falcon Holiday Classic.

His Panthers didn't need to play their best to get back in the winner's bracket.

Glenbard North scored the first 9 points of the game, and that fast start fueled a 40-19 win over Jacobs in first-round action Monday at Wheaton North.

The No. 7 seed Panthers (8-4) advance to play No. 2 Glenbrook South (11-2).

"At times we made things hard on ourselves, but we did start out well at both ends," Chamberlain said. "We've not played our best ball here yet, and we're waiting for that to come. It's nice that we can win without playing our best."

Brianna Harn scored 13 points for Glenbard North, and 3-pointers by Harn and Amy Falson in the game's first two minutes keyed the 9-0 start. Another Harn basket made it 14-5 by quarter's end.

Glenbard North's offense went south the next two quarters, keeping Jacobs within 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter before the Panthers pulled away late. Chamberlain's frustrations with his group's execution was evident.

"When we looked at the weak side of the offense that's when everything opened up," Chamberlain said. "It was there the whole game, but we didn't find it. Once we found the weak side we got the ball inside and did better things."

Sophomore Laila Pickens came off the bench to score 9 points for Glenbard North, 6 in the fourth quarter to spark a late surge of offense.

Amy Becker had 4 points and 7 rebounds for Jacobs (1-10), her basket midway through the third quarter pulling her team within 19-13. But the Golden Eagles endured their own share of offensive woes, a familiar sight to their coach.

"We play OK defense. Our problem is we can't put the ball in the basket," Jacobs coach Keith Chuipek said. "When we miss some easy layups and some free throws I think the girls get discouraged, and then our defense suffers."

Chamberlain said the matchup with Glenbrook South will be a good test for his team, and preparation for DuPage Valley Conference matchups with Naperville Central and Wheaton Warrenville South that loom the first week of January.

"It's a good challenge for them to see where we stack up against those teams," Chamberlain said. "We've even talked about if you want to win a regional you have to beat good teams. This is our chance to see what we can do."