Balanced scoring helps Glenbard North overcome West Chicago
Glenbard North girls basketball coach John Chamberlain said the Panthers are 2-0 after Thursday's 50-29 win over West Chicago because of balance.
"We've got weapons and teams have got to deal with them. We're balanced and we have shooters and different ways to score," he said.
Five of the seven Glenbard North players who saw most of the playing time in the team's home opener scored. Lauren Lee's 14 points and Leah Miller's 13 led the Panthers.
"I think we executed better than we did the other night (Tuesday's 55-51 win at Willowbrook) and took some good shots," Miller said.
Glenbard North jumped out to a 14-2 advantage after the first quarter on 4-of-13 shooting. West Chicago (1-1) called an immediate timeout just 18 seconds into the second quarter after Lee scored the period's first basket to make it 16-2 and keep the Panthers in complete control.
"When you are up that much, it allows you to take your time and execute your plays better," Lee said.
However, the Wildcats then showed signs of life on offense. Bria Williams, who led West Chicago with 10 points, sank two free throws, and then teammate Sierra Koenig made good on a three-point play. Williams converted a Panthers turnover into a basket, and Amari Stafford scored two unanswered baskets, including one off another Glenbard North turnover to pull to within 21-14 with 2:16 before halftime.
Glenbard North build its lead back up to double digits to lead 25-14 at halftime.
"We talked about it at halftime," Chamberlain said. "They rattled us. They made some adjustments to be where we wanted to throw the ball."
West Chicago coach Kim Wallner hoped the Wildcats would carry some of the momentum they had in the second quarter into the third, but it didn't happen as the Panthers led 38-19 going to the fourth quarter.
"We wanted to try and get their lead down to 5 or 6 at the end of the third. But they took it to us and we had no answer," Wallner said. "They're a good team. They ran set plays and did not let some of our kids near the basket.
"We need to get better at half-court. We need to better at half-court defense. Fundamentally, we did not do good things and they took advantage of that," she said.