Wheaton North closes out key win at Batavia
With all the momentum going Batavia's way in the fourth quarter of its Senior Night, Wheaton North regrouped just in time.
The Falcons led throughout the DuKane Conference matchup but had seen Ava Sergio and Erin Golden help Batavia slice an 11-point deficit down to one.
With a senior and freshman taking charge in the final three minutes, Wheaton North closed the game on a 7-0 run for a hard-fought 42-34 victory to keep its conference title hopes alive.
Freshman Claire Hyde calmly ended Batavia's surge with a pair of free throws. Senior Nikki Baird made four free throws of her own down the stretch and blocked a potential game-tying 3 on the other end.
Hyde, who scored her team's first 11 points when neither team could buy a basket in the first half, finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
"Claire is amazing," Baird said. "I love playing with her. She's obviously made a huge impact as a freshman. We've got a young team some people say but they play like they are seniors and I'm so proud to be their teammate."
Baird had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
The win keeps the Falcons (18-5, 9-3) in position for a conference deciding game Friday at rival Wheaton Warrenville South, 10-3 in the league.
Wheaton North also plays St. Charles East on Saturday.
"Batavia is such a good team and is playing great going into the playoffs so it's such a good win for us," Baird said. "I haven't thought about Wheaton South until right this moment. I've been focused on Batavia all week."
After a first half that the teams combined to make just 3 of 13 free throws and 10 of 43 shots from the field, the action picked up the final two quarters.
Leading 16-9 at half, the Falcons extended to their biggest margin of the game at 27-16 midway through the third quarter on a 3-point play by freshman Caroline Gaither set up by Baird's steal.
The Bulldogs clawed back from there. Sergio opened the fourth quarter with two free throws and then a basket down low to bring Batavia within 31-28.
Baird and Hyde each drove for scores but Golden twice followed her own miss and put the ball in, the second time making it 35-34 with four minutes left.
Batavia got the ball back and had a shot in the air for its first lead since 2-0. The ball didn't drop, the Falcons grabbed the rebound and ran a minute off the clock before Hyde was fouled and made both free throws with 3:05 remaining.
The Bulldogs didn't score again.
"They did a really good job of being able to execute down the stretch," Falcons coach Dave Eaton said. "We've been in a lot of tight games all year. We knew we were going to have to battle inside. It's a heck of a win especially on Senior Night. Our kids fought like cats and dogs inside. They really wanted it tonight."
Sergio led Batavia with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Hailey Orman and Golden both scored 8 points.
Batavia (16-14) finished league play in fourth place at 9-5, going 8-2 after starting the year 1-3. The Bulldogs defeated Wheaton North in the first matchup, 40-36.
"Maybe we were a little anxious," Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. "We had an unbelievable turnout of kids today. That's a big deal for us. We could have done some things here and there a little better but I don't feel we did anything horrible. We played a really good team. This is going to be a league that it's hard to beat people twice."