Drury powers Wheaton Academy by Westmont

Sarah Drury’s frustration was building and her turnovers were piling up when she was summoned to the bench for a first-quarter meeting with Wheaton Academy girls basketball coach Beth Mitchell on Tuesday.

Whatever Mitchell said must have made perfect sense.

Drury scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, shaking off a rough start to lead Wheaton Academy (9-4) to a 40-28 win over Westmont in the first round of the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic. The senior forward exploded for 13 points in the third quarter as the Warriors turned a 7-point halftime lead into a 36-21 advantage.

“I started out kind of rough,” Drury said. “I was having a little bit of a breakdown. But I guess we just came together.

“We were pushing the ball and got it into me, and it just worked out.”

Once Drury got started, the Warriors never trailed.

Her first basket came with 3:50 left in the first half, tying the score at 10-10. Senior point guard Ally Witt forced a steal and converted a three-point play on the Warriors’ next possession, and Wheaton Academy led 19-12 at halftime.

Drury took over in the third, outscoring Westmont 13-9 in the period with 5 field goals.

Her transition layup made it 23-14, and she converted a baseline pass from senior Renatta Gorski to push the lead to 29-17. Drury’s three-point play late in the third quarter made it 34-19 and capped an 11-2 run.

“Once you start making them, I guess my confidence goes up,” she said with a laugh.

“They rattled us a little (early), especially with Drury,” Mitchell said. “They were double-teaming her on the inside. ... I did take her out for a couple seconds there and just talked to her about being able to play through her mistakes.

“She was forcing it a bit.”

Wheaton Academy went scoreless on its first eight trips down the court while turning the ball over five times. The Warriors didn’t score until Witt hit a pair of free throws at the 4:20 mark of the first quarter.

“Our goal was to make sure (Drury) was double-teamed any time she touched the ball,” Westmont coach Michael McCord said. “We did a good job of that early.”

Witt finished the game with 13 points, 4 steals and a pair of blocks.

Senior guard Jackie Elzakhem led Westmont with 13 points.

Wheaton Academy advances to play Timothy Christian — which rolled over Mt. Assisi 59-36 — at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.