Wheaton Warrenville South holds off Naperville North
With the postseason just six days away for the Wheaton Warrenville South girls basketball team, the Tigers were pleased with how they responded in the second half Thursday night to beat host Naperville North 47-33.
"Going into the third quarter, we had to make sure that we not let them get their game going and play the game we know," said sophomore Jayla Johnson, who led her team with a game-high 17 points and 8 rebounds.
The Huskies (11-14, 5-11 DuPage Valley Conference) went on a 5-0 run to close out the first half and trail by just 1.
WW South (17-9, 11-5) went on an 8-0 spurt to start the third and take a 25-16 advantage. That was part of the Tigers' 16-4 scoring run for the quarter and they led 33-20 at the end of 24 minutes.
"I think defense was the key. It's been key all year. We made some good stops in the first half, but especially in the second half," said Tigers coach Rob Kroehnke. "We didn't let them make any scoring runs and we executed our offense in the second half. And when you execute, you get better shots."
Naperville North reduced WW South's lead down to six twice in the final quarter thanks to a basket on the fastbreak from senior Sophia Fumagalli and later by senior Cece Pope. But the Tigers spent the last 1:37 on the free-throw line and made 9 of 10 attempts with freshman Mira Emma, who finished with 13 points, making 4 of 4.
"We're playing well together. We feel good going into the postseason. We just need to take one game at a time," Emma said.
WW South is the fifth seed in the Class 4A Schaumburg sectional. The Tigers open postseason play Wednesday in a Bartlett regional semifinal against the winner of Monday's quarterfinal contest between 12th-seeded St. Charles East and 21st-seeded Fenton.
"I told the kids just now (in the postgame meeting) congratulations on a great season. Your record is now 0-0. We'll take it one game at a time. We have our work cut out for us, but we're looking forward to it. The playoffs are fun," Kroehnke said.
The Tigers led 10-6 after the opening quarter. Naperville North struggled with cold shooting until very late on that 5-0 run. Senior Laurel Pereira, who led her team with 11 points on senior night, closed out the first half converting a three-point play.
Huskies coach Jason Dycus praised his team for its effort. But he said some adjustments need to be made before the start of the postseason Monday.
"Their defense is really good. I think we missed some key boxouts and rebounds. They got some second-chance opportunities and got some 3-pointers and we need to do a better job on the glass," he said. "The key (to the postseason) is rebounding and making our shots. We were missing open shots that we need to knock down."
Naperville North, seeded 12th in the Class 4A Benet sectional, opens postseason play Monday in a Yorkville regional quarterfinal against 21st-seeded Oswego.