Glenbrook South too strong for Wheaton North

Wheaton North hopes to go where Glenbrook South's girls basketball program is now.

On Tuesday night the Titans showed the young Falcons just how far they have to go.

No. 1-seeded Glenbrook South forced 26 Falcons turnovers and made 11 of 26 3-point shots to defeat the unseeded Falcons 64-30 at the Bill Neibch Falcon Holiday Classic. The Titans (12-2) will meet No. 4 Schaumburg at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals. The Falcons (5-7) will play St. Charles East at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"Two years ago we were at where (the Falcons) are at, really young," Titans coach Steve Weissenstein said. "It took a couple of years to get going."

"We wanted to see right where we are at," Falcons coach Dave Eaton added, "and he gave us a great learning experience."

The Falcons youngsters - they start two sophomores and two freshmen and bring two sophomores and another freshman off the bench for key minutes - fell behind quickly. The Titans led 14-4 less than six minutes into the game, 35-11 at halftime.

"Obviously, we played very well. We shot the ball well," Weissenstein said.

Glenbrook South made 26 of 58 shots overall. Junior Carie Weinman led the way with 20 points and 6 steals. Senior Caitlin Morrison scored 17 points, and senior Sarah McDonagh added 12.

"I give them all the credit in the world," Weissenstein said of the Falcons. "They're in the right spots. They're playing great help defense, but when we start with 3s like that, it's kind of pick your poison. Do you want us taking it to the basket or do you want us taking 3s? Tonight we happened to shoot really well which opened some other things up as well."

The Falcons showed some grit in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 39-20, but the Titans regrouped and snuffed out any hopes of a comeback.

"That's the difference between where both of our teams are at. They've been there, done that in that kind of a setting, where we're just starting to learn where we're at," Eaton said.

Senior Emmy Gryna led the Falcons with 11 points, making three 3-pointers of her own.

"Our personal pride took a pretty big hit today, but our goal is not to step back. Our goal is to say that's where we eventually want to be. The only way to get there is to keep believing, so we'll keep at it," Eaton said.

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