Falcons playing like it's 1991

It's been awhile since Wheaton North finished as the DuPage Valley Conference girls basketball champion. You have to go back to 1991 for the last time the Falcons took the title.

Following Wednesday's 42-34 win against Wheaton Warrenville South, Wheaton North finds itself 6-0 in the DVC and 12-4 overall as it pursues its first conference crown in 17 years.

"It's been a long time, but hopefully we're going to get there," Falcons coach David Eaton said. "The girls are working hard. I give them credit. They're playing really well right now."

Eaton said he's not talking title yet with his players. However, senior forward Michelle Scandora said the Falcons are starting to see it as a real possibility.

"Oh, definitely," Scandora said. "That's been one of our goals all season. When we go into a conference game that's definitely in the back of our mind knowing that we want to win the DVC."

Banged up:ŒWaubonsie Valley takes a glittering 17-2 record into Saturday's Upstate Eight Conference game at rival Neuqua Valley, but the Warriors continue to be plagued by injuries.

At the end of their bench in their 43-23 loss at Hinsdale Central Tuesday sat a stack of four crutches -- two belonging to senior forward Emily Collins and the other two to junior guard Jessica Morice.

The Warriors had been in the process of adjusting to their injuries, including that of Collins, who is out for the year with an ACL. But just when junior center Rachel Bostick returned to the starting lineup after recovering from a separated shoulder, Morice went down with an injury to her right ankle.

Morice first suffered the injury in the Wheaton North tournament but played on it. The injury was aggravated in practice last week.

Said Morice: "I'm going to try to be back as fast as I can obviously -- a few weeks, I guess. Maybe."

The Warriors clearly missed Morice, an all-area player last season. They trailed Hinsdale Central by 28 points at one point in the fourth quarter.

"It's tough because she's definitely a leader on the court," Warriors senior guard Anna Gault said.

Looking good:ŒHinsdale Central is ranked No. 2 in the Daily Herald's Top 20 and tied at No. 9 in the Associated Press Class 4A poll.

The Red Devils were expected to be good this season, but they're emerging as the program's best team since its state championship club of 2002 thanks to a rising star in sophomore guard Toni Kokenis and a strong, smart supporting cast.

"We're your typical public school," Hinsdale Central coach Steve Gross said. "We got lucky and got one really, really good offensive player and that's the kid right there (Kokenis), and then the kid next to her (senior center Molly Kinsella) is a pretty solid offensive threat. Then we've got a bunch of good high school kids that if we put them in the right position they can be successful, and that's what we've been able to do.

"We have to play great defense if we have a chance to win the state championship… . Our focus is to execute defensively and we have kids willing to do it. It's a good group."

A big loss:ŒLisle lost one of its best players when senior center Liz Todd suffered a nose injury in her team's final game in the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic. It's not certain when Todd, who made the all-tourney team, will be ready to play following surgery for a deviated septum.

"She's out at least four weeks," Lions coach Jeff Javior said. "We might get her back by the (Class 2A) tournament, but we're not positive depending on how things go."

Two left feet:ŒGlenbard South coach Julie Fonda sure knows how to give a halftime talk.

At intermission of her team's quarterfinal game against Glenbrook South in Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Holiday Classic, Fonda entered the locker room with a straight face. The Raiders prepared to be yelled at by their coach.

What Fonda said next surprised them all.

"I'm wearing two left shoes," the coach told her players.

Following a confused reaction, Fonda lifted her pants to reveal that, yes, she was indeed wearing two left shoes.

It wasn't by choice.

Fonda has two pairs of the same shoes. Usually she keeps one at home and the other at school, but she brought the school pair home over the holiday break.

On game day Fonda grabbed two shoes as she headed out the door to school in slippers. She didn't know she grabbed two left shoes until she started dressing for the game in her office at school. By then it was too late to do anything except wear the two left shoes.

"I didn't have a choice so I just went with it," Fonda said.

Much to the amusement of her players.

"They all laughed and got a big kick out of it," Fonda said. "But by the end of the night my feet were killing me."

The Raiders won that game 61-55.