Naperville Central defeats West Aurora

Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum did some math in his head after Tuesday's 53-42 nonconference girls basketball win over visiting West Aurora.

The game against the Blackhawks was the first home contest for the Redhawks since the Dec. 9 battle against Naperville North. Between that home cooking were 11 road games that included holiday tournaments at Oswego and Dundee-Crown, two games in Indiana and one in Iowa.

"We spent about 30 hours on a bus," Nussbaum said.

Yes, it was good to be home.

The Redhawks (8-12) made the most of their return home with a big first half that essentially decided the outcome of this game. Naperville Central led 14-6 at the end of the first eight minutes on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and exploded in the second quarter for a 23-7 scoring run on 9-of-16 shooting that resulted in a 37-13 advantage at halftime.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks (5-12) struggled offensively during the first quarters, shooting an icy 3 of 29. Nussbaum said he would like to see more of the level of play Naperville Central showed during the first half.

"The first half was the team that we can be. Defensively, I thought we played great in the first half and I was also pleased that with 37 points at the half, no one was in double figures. That showed team-wise that we were spread out," he said.

West Aurora came to life offensively to start the third quarter, outscoring the Redhawks 17-9 for the period and finding their shooting touch, making 7 of 12. The Redhawks led 46-30 at the end of 24 minutes.

While Naperville Central's lead was never seriously threatened during the second half, the Blackhawks did a good job of closing the space between them and the Redhawks even very late in the game. Carly Frauenhoff, who scored a game-high 14 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:04 left in the contest and was fouled. She made the subsequent free throw. Soon after, teammate Skylar Doby sank two free throws to make it a final 11-point advantage for Naperville Central.

"I asked them to be more patient and work the ball around more and get the ball inside," said West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl. "I asked the post players to step up and Teryn Griffin and Kayla Battle did that. We were getting more second shots and that makes a difference."

With no seniors on this season's roster, West Aurora remains a work in progress as young players gain experience. Siljendahl said she's seeing progress.

"We have far to go. But from where we started, we have improved and I thought we grew from the first half to the second half tonight. That's all I can ask," she said.

Cierra Stanciel paced the Redhawks with 13 points. Haley Minick had 11 and Mia Lakstigala 10.

"We came through as a team. We had a tough Christmas and we came back to our gym and said we need a victory," Stanciel said.

The Redhawks have nine regular-season games remaining, with seven DuPage Valley Conference matchups. A crucial one looms Thursday when Wheaton North comes to Naperville Central for a contest canceled last week because of the weather. Naperville Central stands at 2-1. Wheaton North is 2-0, and so is Naperville North.

"Winning in conference is always a goal. Having our destiny in our hands is always a goal," Nussbaum said.