East Aurora withstands West Chicago rally

Missed layups. Missed opportunities. That's been the story for West Chicago this season.

Thursday against visiting East Aurora, West Chicago saw a 25-22 lead with seconds remaining in the first half wiped out on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, then rallied from 10 points down to get within 42-41 with 1:27 left to play.

But East Aurora put the game away at the free-throw line and beat the Wildcats 52-47.

West Chicago coach Dan Vashinko had few words after another heartbreaking loss.

"The girls played a great game," he said. "These girls hustle. They give effort. I couldn't ask for better group to coach. They give everything they got. I would just like to see them reap the benefits of it.

"This game came down to missed layups and missed opportunities," Vashinko added. "It's as simple as that."

A rebound basket by 5-foot-7 guard Sam Wiegele and a highlight-reel drive through traffic by backcourt mate Sofia Radice capped a 10-3 run that gave West Chicago (5-15, 1-5 Upstate Eight Valley) a 21-18 lead 3:06 before the break.

Radice then found freshman Sadie Obenhauer on the wing to give the hosts a 25-22 lead with seconds remaining in the second quarter. But East Aurora's Tatiana Ocasio launched a 3-pointer from well behind the stripe to tie the game at 25-25 at halftime.

"We had an 8-point lead against Bartlett and they hit a few shots right before the half," Radice said. "We struggled to come out of it. It's hard to come off of that. It's always nice to come out after halftime and see a lead, even just 1 or 2 points."

The third quarter and the opening two minutes of the fourth were unkind to West Chicago. The Wildcats managed just 3 points and fell behind 38-28 on a basket by East Aurora center Barakat Adekola.

"(Adekola) got good position inside and uses her body well," Vashinko said. "She's a tough player. She's strong and she finishes her layups. We couldn't finish our shots. We had all sorts of open looks. We couldn't finish. That's the game right there."

After West Chicago closed with within 42-41, Adekola scored on an inbounds play underneath the East Aurora basket and the Tomcats made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 47.5 seconds to seal the win.

Adekola led East Aurora (11-9, 3-4) with 17 points. Radice led West Chicago with 17 points and 3 steals. Five-foot-9 forward Sierra Koenig added 14 points, and Wiegele contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds.

"We're a young team," Radice said. "We're getting closer."