Wheaton North shakes rust, Glenbard East

Wheaton North had no problem shaking off the rust of a 12-day layoff.

The Falcons had not seen game action since their own girls basketball holiday tournament on Dec. 28 and were only able to practice once this week due to the weather closings on Monday and Tuesday.

Despite the layoff and short week coach Dave Eaton’s squad put everything together during a 56-44 win against Glenbard East on Thursday night, using a 21-4 first quarter to overwhelm the visiting Rams.

“It was a weird week because we only got to practice one day,” Wheaton North senior Chrissy Baird said. “I think we came out really strong in the first half by playing as a team, which got us into the flow of the game as we played to our strengths.”

Baird scored her team’s first five points as the Falcons jumped all over the Rams in the first quarter. Wheaton North held Glenbard East without a point for a six-minute stretch until Allison Hansen’s layup with 48 seconds left in the first quarter made the score 18-4.

Wheaton North junior Kelly Thornton banked in a 3-pointer in front of the Rams’ bench as the first quarter expired.

Defensively, the Falcons forced Glenbard East into 11 turnovers in that first eight minutes of play.

“I think Emari (Jones) did a really good job for us tonight,” Eaton said. “She’s 6-foot-1 and out on the point, so she makes it tough for the opposing point guards. She was making (Glenbard East) throw over the top and our kids did a good job reading those plays, which led to good transition baskets.”

Glenbard East trimmed the Wheaton North lead to 13 after Ashley Brown banked in a jumper from the free-throw line, which made the score 23-10.

However, the Falcons closed the second quarter with a 13-2 run including a 9-of-12 effort from the free-throw line during that stretch.

Hadley Pfalzgraf’s drive through the lane and layup basket closed Wheaton North’s dominating first-half performance as the Falcons held a 36-12 lead.

Trailing 49-23 heading into the fourth quarter, Glenbard East outscored the Falcons 21-7 in the final eight minutes as Eaton pulled his starters.

The Rams closed the game with a 12-2 run as Elie Donovan scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter while Hansen led all scorers with a game-high 22 points, including 9 in the fourth quarter.

Baird led Wheaton North with 14 points, while Thornton added 11.