WW South finds a way to beat Waubonsie Valley
Waubonsie Valley learned a lesson Saturday night that Wheaton Warrenville South has been teaching all year long.
If you want to beat the Tigers on the basketball court, you need to play four solid quarters. The host Warriors had a strong first half while taking a 19-14 lead on first-place Wheaton Warrenville South, but the second half was another story as the visitors took command and eventually claimed a 44-33 DuPage Valley Conference win.
The Tigers blanked the Warriors for the first 7:36 of the third quarter and built a 27-19 lead thanks in large part to Jake Healy, who scored 8 of his 11 points in the third quarter. Luke Gregorio did end the drought for Waubonsie Valley by connecting on a 3-pointer and then adding a jumper at the buzzer to close to within 27-24 heading into the fourth quarter. Wheaton Warrenville South, however, extended the lead in the fourth quarter on its way to its 15th win in 16 games.
"The main thing for tonight is we played very well in the first half and then we proceeded to throw the ball out of bounds in the second half," Warriors coach Jason Mead said. "They are very disciplined for 32 minutes. The difference between the first half and the second half was they turned their pressure up and our mental speed went way up instead of staying patient."
Just as the Warriors' offense went into a funk in the third quarter, Jake Healy heated up. The junior guard opened the second half with a driving layup and then sandwiched back-to-back 3s around a Warriors turnover for a one-man 8-0 run that made the score 23-19. When Parker Robinson and Dillon Durrett extended the run to 12-0 with buckets in the paint, the Tigers were on their way to a 2-0 DVC weekend and a perfect 8-0 record atop the league.
"We just knew we had to stay together as a team and keep doing what we've done all year," Jake Healy said after his team rebounded from a 6-for-25 shooting effort in the first half. "It was good to come out in the third quarter and show what we're about."
Wheaton Warrenville South went 9 for 14 from the floor in the second half and despite not attempting its first free throw until the fourth quarter, went 9 for 13 in the impressive second half.
"We kind of stuck with it," said Tigers coach Mike Healy, whose team knocked off Naperville Central on Friday. "We didn't get much in transition. I thought they defended us tremendously well and we didn't shoot it that well.
"But we muddled through and found a way. The one thing I liked is we kind of attempted to get to the rim a little more once we realized the ball wasn't going in really well. We did a better job of attacking the rim."
Durrett led all scorers with 15 points after going 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter. Gregorio led the Warriors (7-8, 2-4) with 12 points, while Brian Phillips and Chuck Robinson each added 6 points and Robinson pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds.