Wheaton North dances past Neuqua Valley
Perhaps it was ironic that on the same night that the Neuqua Valley Orchesis troupe was performing in the auditorium, the Wheaton North girls basketball team was doing a little "ballet" of its own Thursday in Naperville.
"The majority of our practice is dedicated to defense and making sure that our rotations are in unison," Wheaton North guard Hannah Swider said. "(Assistant coach Bob Ward) says it's a beautiful ballet on how we play because everyone is connected, we all move at the same time and we really work hard to get that perfect ballet."
Wheaton North danced its way past Neuqua Valley, forcing 17 first-half turnovers and limiting the hosts to just 30 points through the first three quarters on its way to a 58-47 victory.
"Defense is what we hang our hat on," Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton said. "Coach Ward is in charge of running the defense and he's done an unbelievable job the last couple of weeks, really emphasizing a couple of things in practice. I thought the girls executed great tonight."
Wheaton North (17-7, 10-4 DuPage Valley Conference) stymied Neuqua Valley through the first five minutes, building a 10-2 lead off a couple of steals that led to breakouts and a high arching shot off the glass by senior Sophie Ahlberg.
Trailing 18-8 early in the second quarter, Neuqua Valley (8-16, 3-11) closed to within 20-14 on a basket by Jaime Jones before the Falcons answered with an 8-0 capped by Ahlberg's 3-pointer.
"I didn't score as much last year and the beginning of this year, but the coach said I was already a pretty big leader so I should start scoring more so other people can score more," said Ahlberg, one of five Falcons who had between 8 and 13 points.
"(When I score more), it opens things up for everyone else," she added.
Wheaton North led by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter, but the Wildcats countered with a 12-5 run capped by a three-point play by guard Megan Callahan that cut the lead to 40-30.
"(Neuqua Valley) has some real good athletes and Callahan is an absolute stud," Eaton said. "We did not want her to get off because we knew she could put up 20 points in a hurry. The kids did a good job of trying to find her. We wanted to get out early and set the tone defensively."
Down 46-33 three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats got within 50-41 with 2:39 remaining. But the Falcons shut the door by converting 8 of 9 free throws over the final two minutes.
Wheaton North was led by Swider and Matti Zander with 13 points each. Ahlberg and Sarah Topps each had 9 points, and junior Jenna Kortenhoeven added 8.
Jada Harvey paced Neuqua Valley with 18 points and Callahan finished with 10 despite sitting out long stretches in foul trouble.
"The girls played hard," Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. "We just have to hang onto the ball, make some shots. It's got to fall the right way for us. It's the story of the year right now ... up and down, inconsistent.
"The key is to get some consistency before you get to the regionals," he added. "That's the big thing."