McCann, Willowbrook reverse the result against Glenbard North
Willowbrook senior Katelynn McCann hasn't forgotten the two losses Glenbard North inflicted on the Warriors last season.
It was payback time Tuesday night.
McCann began her third season on varsity in fine fashion, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead Willowbrook to a 60-25 victory over host Glenbard North in the season opener for both girls basketball teams.
It was a big turnaround from last season when McCann was bothered by a hand injury and could not consistently hit her shot.
"She had a good game tonight," Willowbrook coach Terry Harrell said. "She warmed up and started hitting her shot. She didn't hit her shot last year."
The Warriors didn't have much success last year, winning only six games, and the losses to Glenbard North were particularly frustrating.
"Yes, for sure," McCann said. "Last year we played tough, but this year we had a lot of players coming back, so we knew what we had to do.
"We just knew we had to play hard and together the whole time, so we definitely came back for revenge on them."
McCann, sank 6 of 10 shots, including 4 of 5 in the second half as the Warriors increased a 35-10 halftime lead to as many as 36 points. She and fellow guards K'Aliyah Herron and Grace Tumilty swarmed the Panthers early and often, forcing 9 turnovers in the first quarter alone in grabbing a 15-6 lead.
"I feel like as a team we played with a lot of effort and hustle and we connected a lot," Tumilty said. "That made us put up a lot of layups and (we) got a lot of rebounds."
Tumilty, a sophomore making her first varsity start, had an impressive season debut with 6 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. Herron, a junior who was elevated to varsity in the second half of last season, tallied 7 of her 11 points in the first quarter and added 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.
"We're a lot quicker than we were last year," Harrell said. "Our ballhandling is a little bit better and we just played hard tonight. It was a really good effort."
Senior forward Maureen Schmid added 8 points for the Warriors, who have the type of team the Panthers did last year. Glenbard North graduated all of its top players and has a roster full of first-time starters. Chassidy Betney and Olivia Corona paced the Panthers with 5 points each.
"Credit to Willowbrook," Glenbard North coach Steve Wit said. "They really came with the right intensity.
"We're young and inexperienced. We think we're pretty good within the walls of this building, but as we step out of this building we're going to find that we've really got to step it up."