Confident Hersey handles Glenbard North
Hook shots by Maggie Hogen. Three-point swishes by Jen Hall. Superb passes and defense by Corinne Busby.
Hersey’s girls basketball team had it all in the second half against Glenbard North on Tuesday.
Nursing as 20-18 lead at intermission, the Huskies came out with a full-court press in the third quarter.
The pressure defense stymied the Panthers and created a 19-2 run en route to a 48-27 triumph for No. 3 seeded Hersey in the third round of the 28th annual Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North.
The victory gives the two-time defending tourney champs (6-8) a shot at fifth place today when they face Mid-Suburban East rival and No. 5 seed Elk Grove (8-5) at 4:30 p.m.
It marks the second time in three years the teams will play three times in the regular season. Hersey won all three in the 2009-10 season.
They will meet again a week from Friday in the MSL East.
Hall finished with a game-high 20 points, 4 points shy of her career-high 24 against Crane at the Maine West Tip-Off Classic.
“Our team defense was just really good,” said Hall (3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 assist), a four-year varsity performer whose record is 12-3 in the Falcon Classic. “I love this tournament. It’s great competition. This was big to get a win and get our confidence back (after a tough last-second loss to West Aurora in Tuesday’s quarterfinal).”
Renee Poulos’ bucket got the Huskies rolling in the third quarter.
That was followed by a nifty steal and assist by Busby, who flipped a sharp pass to Hogen for an easy layup. Hall followed with her second of 4 3-pointers and Hersey’s big rally was in full swing.
Glenbard North (8-6) did not score its first basket of the half until a layup by Teddi Govedarica made it 39-22 with 4:22 left in the game.
“We needed this,” said Busby who had 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. “We’ve had a lot of tough losses to good teams and this will help our team chemistry. We just have to come together as a team and then we can flourish.”
Hogen, as usual, flourished on the boards collecting 8 rebounds with her 9 points. She also produced a big blocked shot to sustain the Huskies’ momentum in the third quarter.
“Jen obviously made a lot of shots but her decision making in the second half was great,” said Huskies coach Mary Fendley. “Corinne made some real nice steals and passes in transition.
“Maggie hit some nice shots and Ashley Raullli (9 points) really did a nice job off the bench. Everyone contributed.”
The Panthers were led by senior Brianna Harn’s 9 points. Teammates Amy Falson and Kailey James each chipped in 5.
“Bri is a steady performer and does the little things,” said Glenbard North coach John Chamberlain. “I thought Katie Wisniewski worked hard in the post and did nice things on the defensive end.
“We show some fight. But once it looked like we weren’t going to win, I think we stopped playing as hard as we should have been.”
The Panthers will face DuPage Valley Conference for Wheaton North (6-8) for seventh place today at 3 p.m.