Downers Grove North takes close one from Palatine
Downers Grove North girls basketball coach Stephan Bolt said his Trojans have had their share of close games get way in the final quarter this season.
But that trend has changed at the 34th annual Bill Neibch Falcons Classic at Wheaton North High School.
Wednesday's second straight win for the No. 7-seeded Trojans, a 37-34 decision over No. 2 Palatine, puts Downers Grove North in the semifinals for the second straight season.
The Trojans (7-8) will face No. 3 Glenbard South at 6 p.m. today while the Pirates (10-3) will meet No. 6 Bartlett at 3 p.m. in the consolation bracket.
"It's nice to see two games in a row where we make the right plays, especially on defense, to give ourselves a chance to win," said Bolt, who is in sixth season.
The Pirates were to a position to win with a 30-25 lead after three quarters but DGN limited them to 4 points - Sydney Rzepka's 10-footer on the baseline and her 2 free throws - in the final quarter.
The Trojans overcame the deficit third-quarter deficit when sophomore point guard Ellie Gross hit a 3 with 3:35 left for a 31-30 lead.
"Ellie walked into a 3-pointer where no one was guarding her and we had a lot of other kids step up and make big-time plays, too," Bolt said. "In close games, that's what you need. The girls rose to the occasion."
The Pirates regained the lead at 32-31 on Rzepka's bucket but the Trojans answered with another 3, this time from Lauren Sebek, for a 34-32 lead with 1:26 left in the game.
Free throws from Sebek, Alexis Parker and Gross made it 37-32 with 27 seconds left.
Rzepka's 2 free throws with 11.6 seconds made it 37-34.
Rzepka then rebounded a missed free throw by the Trojans with 10 second left and Palatine called a timeout.
The Pirates got off a 3 that missed, and a scramble for the rebound ensued as the buzzer sounded.
"We had a tough game double overtime win on Tuesday (over St. Charles East)," said Trojans junior Jalyn Harris (9 rebounds, 4 points), who drove the baseline for a big bank shot that gave her team a 25-20 lead in the third quarter. "In the fourth quarter, we just tried to communicate more and stay together as a team. It was a good win."
A win in which balance scoring paved the way, led by Gross (11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Sebek (7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Parker (7 points, 4 rebounds) and Julia Kramper (6 points, 4 assists).
"Downers Grove North North played well," said Palatine coach Mark Johnson. "Their point guard is something, and only a sophomore. They have a lot of underclassmen. They've got a good squad. They're going to be really, really good."
Bolt also thought highly of the Pirates.
"Palatine is a good team,." he said. "I give them a lot of credit. They've got kids who can knock down shots. We were fortunate that we got a couple of stops at the end."
Senior Kendra Lindell led the Pirates with 13 points followed by Jenny Myslinski (7 points) and Kacie Filian, who had 6 points, 8 assists, rebounds and 2 steals.
"Kacie is dynamite," said Johnson of the senior guard." She gives us everything and then some. She's 101 percent all the time.
"Everything we ask her to do, she does to the best of her ability. She is phenomenal. Once she starts shooting more, that will open up defenses more for us."
Filian's 3 got Palatine to within 25-23 in the third quarter and moments layer Lindell's fastbreak layup tied the game at 25-25 with 1:51 left in the third period.
The Pirates continued the 10-0 run when Filian dove for a ball and tapped it away to a teammate. She then thread the needle with a pass to Rzepka who was charging to the basket and converted the layup for a 27-25 lead.
Lindell sent the Pirates into the final quarter with the 30-25 advantage when she hit her third 3-pointer from deep in the corner just before the buzzer.
"We got a lot of good looks in fourth quarter," Johnson said. "But until Sydney knocked down that shot, we had not scored. It's tough to close out ballgames when you score 4 points in the fourth quarter.
"We did have a couple of critical turnovers and we talked about that afterward. Those are mistakes we can't make. But let's make them in the Christmas tournament as opposed to the regional tournament. That's kind of the message we sent to them. There's always something to learn."
The Pirates hope to learn from it in their next two games.
"If we go 3-1 in the tournament, that's still as successful Christmas tournament," Johnson said. "And then we look forward to the second half of the conference."
Bolt is also looking forward to the future.
"We have a lot of new faces playing different minutes," he said. "We've got a couple of young kids. Ellie Gross and Julia Kramper (junior) returned but Gross is still a sophomore. It's a young group and we're only going to get better. So I'm proud of them. They're getting better for sure as the season goes along."