Hilltoppers pick up where they left off

Given the direction Glenbard West's season is going, the last thing you'd think the girls need is an 11-day detour for finals.

Looks like it was just a pitstop.

Showing no rust from an extended layoff, the Hilltoppers beat Downers Grove North 56-41 on Thursday in Glen Ellyn for their eighth win in nine games.

"I think everyone was pumped to start playing again," Hilltoppers junior Abbie Hastings said. "We had a long break, but our coaches definitely pushed us in practice. They wanted to keep us in the zone we're in."

Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said that spacing on offense and communication on defense have been focal points in practice. The Hilltoppers (15-5, 6-1 West Suburban Silver) looked crisp with the ball, Hastings and Kathryn Lux leading a balanced attack with 16 points apiece. Fellow starters Abbey White, Abigail McBride and Cayla Herbst each added 8.

"We still could do better, but we did a real nice job with our spacing tonight," Hofland said. "They're playing very unselfishly. I hope it continues."

Downers Grove North (6-15, 1-6) jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead in the game's first two minutes, sophomore Madeline Boltin knocking down two early 3-pointers.

But Lux hit a corner 3-pointer and scored a basket in transition, touching off a 15-0 Hilltoppers run to end the first quarter. Lux scored 11 points in the quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointers.

A Herbst basket put Glenbard West up 27-16 at the half, and the margin remained in double figures the rest of the way.

Downers Grove North pressured Glenbard West into 23 turnovers - but an up-tempo game was more dictated by the score and not what Trojans coach Paul Maggiore had in mind. Melissa Blazej, the only senior in a starting lineup featuring three sophomores, led the Trojans with 16 points.

"Our girls will play as hard as anybody will play defensively," Maggiore said. "It comes down to putting the ball in the basket."

Glenbard West hosts Oak Park-River Forest on Saturday. And it's not too early to look ahead to next Friday's return date at Hinsdale Central, which beat the Hilltoppers by 23 six weeks ago.

"I want to see how we do," Hastings said, "especially after all these games and how we'll we've been doing."