Wheaton North defense swarms St. Francis

It was St. Francis' misfortune to see Wheaton North on the night the Falcons played their best girls basketball game of the season.

"Definitely," Falcons senior guard Sarah Cassel said after she and her teammates cruised to a 65-35 nonconference victory against cross-town rival St. Francis. "We played together, we played as a team, and it was so much fun."

"Hands down," Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton added. "The kids played fantastic. We've seen St. Francis play three times, and they're a good team. They're not bad."

The Spartans (5-4) are off to a good start to their season, but they never had a chance against the Falcons (4-4). Wheaton North led from Cassel's three-point play off the opening tip to the final buzzer, with an early 11-0 run creating a quick double-digit margin that just kept growing.

"They play like we want to play," St. Francis coach Mike Phillips said. "They play with a lot of energy. Dave's got them playing really well. That's the kind of defense we want to play, and we've got a ways to go, obviously. We didn't handle their pressure very well, but it's something to learn from, hopefully."

The Falcons defense swarmed and frustrated St. Francis, forcing 25 turnovers for the game and holding the Spartans to 12-of-43 shooting.

"That's the first time I feel like we played our defense as a team and as a unit," Eaton said. "We moved on the pass rather than reacting. We spend a lot of time going over our defense, and today I think it showed."

"Coach Eaton preaches defense," Cassel added. "We really try to suffocate our opponents and try to get them frazzled and stuff."

Cassell scored 8 first-quarter points, and the Falcons led 19-8 going to the second.

"I had the team behind my back, and they really pushed me," Cassel said. "I knew they had a lot of faith in me."

"Cassel had a huge one," Eaton added. "That's sort of what we've been waiting for with Sarah is, sometimes she really picks it up, and she started the game off by getting to the basket with the early layup, and I think that sort of jump-started us."

The Falcons were led in scoring by two familiar faces - Emari Jones tallied 18 points and Kelly Thornton had 15 - plus a new face. Freshman Hannah Swider added 10 points and 6 rebounds despite joining her fellow starters on the bench for the fourth quarter, a good sign to her coach.

"Hannah Swider finally did not look like a freshman," Eaton said. "She played like a varsity basketball player, and that's going to be a key to our season."

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