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WW South jumps on St. Charles North

After playing 3 games in as many days last week, Wheaton Warrenville South girls basketball coach Rob Kroehnke wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his team Tuesday night.

“We were a little tired so I was wondering how we’d show up tonight,” said Kroehnke.

Worry no more.

Jumping out to a 14-0 lead after 5 minutes, the Tigers (11-2) built a commanding 42-18 halftime advantage on their way to a 62-40 nonconference victory over St. Charles North (4-9) in St. Charles.

Senior guard Sierra Bisso scored 15 of her team-leading 18 points in the first half, including all 3 of her 3-point attempts during the Tigers’ 22-12 second-quarter surge.

“When I was warming up, I felt a lot better about my shot,” said Bisso, who added another 3-pointer on the Tigers’ first possession of the second half.

“I don’t think she missed in the first half,” Kroehnke said of Bisso, who was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in the first 16 minutes. “That’s her spot out there. Meghan (Waldron) did a great job of getting her the ball.”

The Tigers, who earned their 10th straight win, also received a strong effort from senior center Diamond Thompson (14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocked shots).

“I think she (Bisso) was open a little bit because we actually got a little inside presence tonight with Diamond (Thompson),” said Kroehnke. “We’ve been talking about it. If she can be a presence inside, it’ll open things up on the outside. A little inside-outside game will never hurt.”

WW South blistered the nets at a 63 percent clip in the opening half while forcing 13 North Stars turnovers.

“Our big focus tonight was to come out with energy,” said Kroehnke. “We came right out of the gates and that was good to see. It was a great effort. We shot the ball extremely well.”

Twelve of the North Stars’ 18 first-half points came from their reserves, including Kyla Helsel (5 points and Sam Novak (3 points).

“You hope coming in that you’re shooting the ball really well and they’re not,” said St. Charles North coach Colleen Backer. “But they were hitting a lot of shots and we were having difficulty getting stops because we couldn’t block out or find the shooter.”

On a positive note, the North Stars outscored the Tigers, 22-20, in the second half, as 5-10 sophomore guard Nicole Davidson got on a roll with 12 of her career-high 18 points coming in the third quarter.

“We moved the ball around much better,” Backer said of her team’s second half. “It definitely helped that Davidson was on fire.”

At one point, Davidson hit 5 consecutive shots from the field.

“I’m very proud of Nicole,” said Backer. “As a varsity basketball player, that was the best team she has seen. She was hitting shots because she was contributing on both ends. That was great to see.”

Natalie Winkates added 6 points for the North Stars, who begin Dundee-Crown Tournament action on Dec. 26 against Evanston.

“When we started getting more stops on the defensive end, we were more confident on the offensive end,” said Backer. “We’re learning and we’re progressing. They’re (the Tigers) a great basketball team.”

Waldron added 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals for WW South, which faces Geneva Thursday night in the semifinals of the Naperville North/Benet Tournament.

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