Glenbard North beats Waubonsie Valley in double overtime
Senior Lauren Lee had to watch the Glenbard North girls basketball team's loss at Waubonsie Valley on Dec. 2.
In Tuesday's rematch Lee and the Panthers found a second - and even a third wind - for a memorable victory.
The Panthers not only defeated the Warriors 63-59 in Carol Stream but pulled out the DuPage Valley Conference victory in double overtime after trailing late in the fourth quarter.
"I'll definitely remember this game. It's probably the best game out of my high school career," Lee said. "Never been in double overtime. It's pretty cool to win."
Senior Leah Miller led the Panthers (6-15, 2-8) with 17 points while sophomore Brea King had 15, Lee 13 and senior Trinity Medina 8 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman Lauren McKnight had 18 points for the Warriors (7-13, 3-6) with three 3-pointers. Junior Iwiysis Osaghae had 14 points and freshman Mykah Berkompas 11.
Lee scored all of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Her second huge 3 gave the Panthers the lead for good at 60-59 with 1:40 left in the second overtime. After King took a charge to nullify a lead-changing basket, Miller hit two free throws with 45.1 seconds and King added 1 of 2 with 11.2 seconds.
"It's definitely hard to go into two overtimes, and when Leah was in foul trouble a little at the beginning," Lee said. "We definitely hit our shots at clutch times and pulled though."
Waubonsie won the first meeting 54-28 but only led 29-22 after three quarters.
"We kind of lost energy the fourth quarter. I think that was difference for this game," Miller said. "We all had a lot of energy, the whole bench, everybody on the court. Hopefully, we'll keep it together and keep playing together."
With 7.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Miller converted a scoop layup to force overtime at 44-44. The Panthers' defensive deflections denied the Warriors' a last-second shot.
Waubonsie rallied in the first overtime. Down 57-51, McKnight hit a 3, the Warriors forced a traveling call and then Berkompas drilled a game-tying 3 with 10 seconds. King's last-second driving shot banked off the lip of the rim and out.
While Lee missed six games earlier this season, Miller missed two during the same stretch with an ankle injury. Medina missed four games earlier in the season.
The now-healthy Panthers have won four of their last seven.
"They're our seniors. They're our leaders. Obviously, we're a different team with them," Glenbard North coach Steve Wit said.
"I couldn't be prouder of (our players) sticking in there and winning a double-overtime game. We took care of business at the line. We did much better on the boards (later). To talk to them about some things and see them make adjustments, I'm proud of this group."
The Warriors trailed since the early part of the second quarter before opening a 39-35 lead with 2:27 left. Lee then hit a wide-open 3 and later two free throws to close the gap to 43-42. The Panthers regained possession after one of two free throws by the Warriors.
"(The difference was) not being able to close it in regulation. We have to be more disciplined when it comes to those type of situations," Waubonsie coach Brett Love said. "Being up and then giving up a wide-open shot because we gamble or we foul when they're in the bonus, we've got to understand the situation and approach the game a little bit differently than we do throughout the middle the game."