Wheaton North comeback beats Glenbard West
Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton laid it on the line in the halftime locker room.
“We told the kids, ‘If this is the way you want to end your season, it’s up to you,’” Eaton said, “‘but you control your own destiny.’”
The fifth-seeded Falcons answered the call, using a 17-1 run to erase a four-point halftime deficit to beat No. 12 Glenbard West 49-31 in Tuesday’s Class 4A Glenbard West regional semifinal.
Wheaton North (18-8), which flipped the script from last year’s regional loss to Glenbard West, advances to play No. 4 seed Proviso East in Thursday’s regional final.
“It definitely went through our minds, that we didn’t want it to happen like last year,” Falcons senior Fantasia Vine said.
Glenbard West (14-14) led 19-15 at half and had the pace to its liking. Cayla Herbst scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half for the Hilltoppers, muscling in five baskets inside.
“Cayla put us on her back in the first half,” Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said.
Wheaton North, which usually plays man defense, came out in a zone. The Falcons stayed with it in the second half, but extended pressure with results. A Vine steal led to a Maddie Baillie 3-pointer, and in the fourth quarter two Sydney Sharkey steals turned into Vine run-out baskets. Wheaton North forced 13 turnovers in the second half.
“Second half, we came out pressing a little bit and started to speed them up,” Eaton said, “so they couldn’t just hold the ball and get the shots they wanted. We told them at half, ‘You got to make them make plays instead of just running plays.’ The kids got after it and turned the game around.”
Wheaton North still trailed 26-25 midway through the third quarter, but a Baillie 3-pointer gave her team the lead for good. Vine stole the ball and fed Baillie for another 3-pointer in transition, and Mandy Traversa knocked one in from downtown. Baillie finished the onslaught from distance with a step-back 3-pointer with seconds left in the quarter, making it 37-27.
“In the second half we started to understand that we needed to cut against their zone to get open,” said Baillie, who scored all 11 of her points in the second half. “Once we cut we started making their defenders move and we got passes inside-out and we started hitting some shots.”
“We lost some shooters in the third quarter,” Hofland said, “and their shooters didn’t miss. They did a nice job spreading us out and breaking us down.”
Bridget Flanagan scored 10 points for Glenbard West. Traversa and Vine each scored 12 for Wheaton North, which now gets a second crack at Proviso East. The Pirates beat the Falcons 61-44 one month ago at the McDonald’s Shootout.
“They beat us pretty good,” Eaton said. “Our kids have some confidence now and will give it their best.”