Naperville North celebrates win over Naperville Central
Naperville Central has owned the girls basketball rivalry with Naperville North, so when Huskies senior Kayla Sharples left with foul trouble in the third quarter, the stage was set for yet another Redhawks win Tuesday night.
But Naperville North's CeCe Pope stepped up big-time to help the visitors hold off a late charge in a 53-47 Huskies win. Pope scored 10 of her game-high points in the third quarter and Naperville North made 17 of 22 free throws to give the school the cross-town win, something that has been hard to come by in recent years.
"It was pretty awesome. We cannot wait to celebrate," said Pope, who was part of two tough losses last season to the rival Redhawks. "I've been looking forward to it since my freshman year. I knew it was like a cross-town game, but I had no idea it would be this crazy. I am so glad we won."
Naperville Central (4-4, 2-1), looking to open 3-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference, struggled mightily in the first half while falling behind 26-13. The usually dangerous perimeter team had just one Emily Kraft 3-pointer in the first half.
"We let it get way too away from us," Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said. "We probably did not make enough hay when Sharples was out. But really we're 1 for 10 from the arc in the first half … if we make two (more) shots … . I've never been in the desert, but that must be what it's like."
For two quarters the Redhawks struggled with turnovers and missed shots, while Sharples and teammate Laurel Pereira combined for 15 points in the first half to outscore the Redhawks entire team.
But the hosts made things interesting when Hannah Swarm knocked down a pair of 3s, Cierra Stanciel added 6 points in the third quarter and then Kraft added 9 fourth-quarter points to finish with 12. The Redhawks closed to within 32-26 on a 3 from Swarm with less than three minutes left in the third, but Pope countered with a jumper on the baseline and a putback on the next possession for a 36-26 lead.
Second-year Huskies coach Jason Dycus was thrilled to get his first win over the Redhawks.
"It feels really good, it really does feel good," he said. "We have a lot of respect for the Naperville Central program. Their kids battle hard.
"When they're your archrival and they're less than a mile away, it's always going to be a big game. I'm proud that the Huskies had more points this time than the Redhawks."
Sharples, who did foul out with 1:03 left to play, scored 10 points and added 4 steals despite limited minutes. Pope, meanwhile, had 11 rebounds to go with her 17 points, and Pereira finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds for Naperville North (5-2, 2-0).
"Honestly, we've all been just trying to play with a chip on our shoulder and just, like, know what our goal is," said Pope, a 5-foot-8 junior. "Not only for tonight but for the future and every day in practice. We just continue to think about what we want to accomplish and always push not only ourselves but each other."