Glenbard West falls to Providence in overtime
A late 3-point flurry kept Providence Central alive and proved costly for Glenbard West.
Hilltoppers senior guard Lauren Davis drained a go-ahead 3 with 11.8 seconds to play in regulation, only to see her effort matched at three-tenths of a second by Providence junior guard Cassidy Glenn to force overtime.
“The mistakes cost us the game,” Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said. “And that's just frustrating. We were trying to foul. To Providence's credit, they did a real great job moving the ball around. They did. And it was a bad break for us.”
Providence wrestled the momentum away from Glenbard West in overtime and ended up the victor, 41-37 at the 2010 Benet-Naperville North Holiday Tournament in Naperville on Thursday night. The loss was especially frustrating for Glenbard West, which led until the waning seconds of the game.
The Hilltoppers (5-5) led by as much as 9 points in the second quarter but saw their lead squandered by turnovers and missed opportunities. Davis paced Glenbard West with 18 points, 12 of those points coming from behind the arc. But it wasn't enough to overcome a scrappy Celtics team.
“She's a senior leader and she didn't disappoint tonight,” Hofland said. “For us to be competitive every night, we need that kind of effort and play out of her.”
Providence (8-5) shot only 15 percent in the first half and found itself in a 20-11 hole at halftime. They started the second half with a quick 4-0 run and suffocating defense. Davis drilled a 3 to squash the comeback bid, and the Hilltoppers entered the fourth quarter with a 6-point lead.
But the Celtics rode an 11-5 run into the final minute of regulation to even the score at 30. Both teams traded 3-pointers with Davis' coming at 11.8 seconds and Glenn's at 0.3 seconds. Providence upped the tempo in the overtime and held on to prevail.
“I thought at times we played as well as we had all year,” Hofland said. “But I don't feel like they won the game. I feel we lost it. We were careless with the basketball, and we're better than that.”
Providence benefitted from a strong performance by Glenn, who finished with a game-high 21 points.
“They had a nice lead, and we kept clawing,” said Providence Catholic coach Eileen Copenhaver. “We got our confidence up and that really helps.”