Hustle plays earn Wheaton Academy a victory
There was a seemingly innocuous moment in Monday night's Wheaton Academy vs. Aurora Christian nonconference girls basketball game. Warriors guard Jamie Netzley went to the floor to pull in a loose-ball rebound with her team leading by 8 and just more than 30 seconds to play.
The hustle play didn't win the game. It didn't necessarily seal the win either. Yet on a night when Netzley poured in 21 points in a 59-49 Wheaton Academy win, it seemed to best characterize everything she brings to the table for her team.
A solid on-the-ball defender and Wheaton Academy's leading scorer, Netzley did anything and everything in a hard-fought win.
"She's bring a lot to the court," Wheaton Academy coach Beth Mitchell said. "Her court awareness and her basketball IQ is something that you can't teach. She's just a competitor."
The Warriors got off to a solid start on the night, taking an 18-11 lead into the second quarter with Netzley scoring 8. However, after Aurora Christian (13-7) switched from man-to-man to a matchup zone to start the second, the Eagles managed to fight their way back into the game.
"I thought it was better to defend them in man to begin with because (Netzley) is so tough," Aurora Christian coach Burney Wilkie said. "We just didn't defend well in man, so we switched to zone and until the fourth quarter it worked pretty well."
The Eagles made up the deficit and wound up taking a 24-23 lead into the half. After the break they continued to ride Gabby Galbato's hot hand and take another 1-point lead into the fourth.
Galbato led all scorers with 23 points on the night.
However, Galbato's big night wouldn't be enough for Aurora Christian. Wheaton Academy (12-5) applied heavy pressure defensively in the fourth, forcing 7 of its 23 turnovers in the final period.
The Warriors immediately seized momentum and raced out to a 7-point lead with five minutes to play on a Netzley steal and layup, and the Eagles coudn't get closer than 5 the rest of the night. Netzley scored 9 in the final quarter and Christina Garrison scored all 11 of her points in the second half.
"I think we won because we picked up more loose balls," Mitchell said. "Overall it was just a good win for us against a quality team."
Natasha Brown added 14 points and 15 rebounds for Aurora Christian.