Wheaton North gets tournament off to great start

Wheaton North left no doubt about its intentions in its first-round game of the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic on Tuesday.

The host and top-seeded Falcons are out to repeat as tournament champions. They got a great start with a 67-14 victory against Willowbrook.

"It means a lot," Falcons senior Maggie Bonga said. "We're just going to keep fighting every day, just playing our best, hoping that we get a win."

Wheaton North (10-2) will meet DuPage Valley Conference rival Waubonsie Valley in Wednesday's second round.

Hannah Swider led the Falcons with 19 points, and Nikki Baird added 13 despite limited playing time.

After a tough loss last Thursday at cross-town rival Wheaton Warrenville South in which the Falcons' offense never could get started, they showed against Willowbrook that they're back to normal.

"It feels really good to have our rhythm back, and it feels good to get this big win and run our offense, get a few kinks out," Bonga said.

Wheaton North held the Warriors (2-10) scoreless the first 10 minutes of the game, scoring the first 28 points. Not that the Falcons were paying attention.

"We just kind of go crazy no matter what the score is," Bonga said. "We're always just trying to be loud, encourage our teammates. Just having a fun time on the bench."