Naperville North freshman shines, but West Aurora wins
After getting a first look at Naperville North standout Greta Kampschroeder, West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl began predicting great things for the freshman.
But two games into the new season, she's also starting to think the future may be quite bright for her Blackhawks.
Kampschroeder scored a game-high 21 points in her high school debut Saturday morning at the Warhawk Thanksgiving tourney at Waubonsie Valley, but it was West Aurora that prevailed 52-49 to open the season with back-to-back thrilling wins.
Naperville North (0-1) had taken a 46-44 lead after senior guard Lauren Platou split a pair of free throws with six minutes left to play, but the Huskies' offense then went into an extended dry spell that lasted more than 5½ minutes and allowed the Blackhawks to pull out the win.
"Yes, it's nice (to be 2-0) but it kind of hurts my heart. It's stressful," said Blackhawks guard Essence Rayford, who led her team with 16 points. "We just stay calm. That was all we really had to do and to count on each other."
Naperville North led 12-8 after one quarter as Kampschroeder tallied 9 points on four field goals before picking up her second foul in the final second of the quarter. The rookie sat the second quarter and West Aurora claimed a 26-24 lead at the half behind 10 points from Keva Tomas and 9 from Rayford.
The second half went back and forth, but the Huskies were eventually done in by that long drought in the fourth quarter and by some rough free-throw shooting.
"That was disappointing," Naperville North coach Jason Dycus said after his team missed 9 of 11 free throws and lost by 3 points. "We're not getting enough out of our post game … we don't have a balanced attack. We're relying too much on Lauren (Platou) and now our freshman … we can't be a two-trick pony. You've got to be a well-balanced team."
With Platou and Kampschroeder each knocking down a trio of 3s, the Huskies almost had enough to sneak out a win. The 6-foot newcomer surely impressed Siljendahl.
"That freshman from Naperville North, she's awesome," said the West Aurora coach, whose team had opened with a 2-point win over Oswego East. "She's going to do great things, that's for sure."
Despite battling a few first-game jitters, Kampschroeder came out strong, showing off a nice outside shot and the ability to drive to the rim. She also pulled down 6 rebounds while playing three quarters. Ella Bristow led the Huskies with 8 rebounds off the bench.
"Yeah, I was a little bit nervous yesterday and this morning, but my teammates were there, especially the seniors," she said. "They were like, 'You got this.' They were behind me the whole time and I felt really good.
"We need to work on a few things like shooting more free throws in practice and making more free throws, but other than that, I thought our defense was really good. We'll just go on to the next game and hopefully we'll be better."