West Aurora comes back to shock Wheaton North
West Aurora girls basketball coach Connie Siljendahl has been talking about the word grit with her team all season long.
On Thursday night, the Blackhawks put that grit on display.
Rallying from a 28-14 halftime deficit, the Blackhawks (11-3) outscored Wheaton North 14-4 in the third quarter and then fought all the way back, tying the game on three separate occasions before senior guard Essence Rayford came through in the clutch.
Rayford sank a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining to help lift the Blackhawks to a 47-45 semifinal triumph over top-seeded Wheaton North (11-3) in its own Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
"It's very special," Siljendahl said of beating the Falcons on their home floor. "Not being in the DVC (DuPage Valley Conference), you miss that high level of play. The DVC is crazy good. These teams are awesome."
With the win, the fifth-seeded Blackhawks advance to Friday's 7:30 p.m. championship contest against third-seeded Glenbard South, which defeated Downers Grove North 36-26 in the other semifinal clash.
Rayford (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) absorbed a hard foul on her drive to the basket, forcing Siljendahl to call a timeout, giving her some time to collect herself.
"I was worried about a lot," Rayford admitted about her first free throw. "Once I hit that first one, the energy went back up. I was in pain but I had to put it behind me."
Senior guard Kiyanna Rodgers led the Blackhawks with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Rodgers' back-to-back steals and layups helped pump some life into the Blackhawks early in the third quarter.
Rayford's 3-pointer from the corner capped the Blackhawks' 7-0 run to start the third quarter and whittled their deficit to 28-21.
Rodgers, who took a nasty fall going for a loose ball midway through the third quarter, returned in time to drain a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the Falcons' lead to 32-28.
"My cheek is a little sore but it's OK," said Rodgers, who scored 13 second-half points. "We just needed to score. Once we started to score a couple points, I knew we'd come back."
The frenetic fourth quarter included Skylar Doby's banked-in 3-pointer that put the Blackhawks on top 43-42 with 2:46 left and Dajour Miles' acrobatic layup that gave the visitors a 45-44 lead with 1:57 remaining.
The Falcons misfired on a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds and Rayford collected the rebound from a prone position as time expired.
West Aurora is now 7-2 in games decided by 10 points or less.
"This win means everything to us," said Rodgers.
Hannah Swider paced the Falcons with a game-high 26 points, including four 3-pointers.
"Tonight didn't go the way we wanted but we've got to do a better job of asserting ourselves in the second half," said Falcons coach Dave Eaton. "You can't be on the wrong side of a 7-0 run to start.
"A lot of credit goes to West Aurora. They did what they had to do to win."