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Glenbard South outlasts WW South in second OT

After a double-overtime game only one side can walk away with a win while the opposition has to struggle with the many what-ifs.

Glenbard South eventually knocked off visiting Wheaton Warrenville South 41-39 Wednesday in a nonconference girls basketball game that needed two extra sessions before crowning a victor.

Junior guard Lauren Cohen paced the Raiders with 15 points and 6 steals, and she had a big impact in the second overtime by scoring Glenbard South's first two baskets.

But Cohen got some much-needed assistance from a variety of teammates at the most opportune times. That included an India Lucas 3-pointer that tied the game at 34-34 in the first overtime, and a Gianna Coluzzi three-point play that provided the winning points.

“It was awesome. We came out a little bit slower,” Cohen said. “But in the end we just moved the ball really well and got some people open. I think we're getting there. Slowly, but we are getting there.”

The young Tigers, who graduated almost their entire roster from last season, led 12-10 after one quarter after Mia McCoyd scored 10 points and connected on a pair of 3s. With Cohen tallying 8 points and Rocky LaPonte adding a pair of 3s, the Raiders led 21-17 at the half.

But the back-and-forth contest saw Wheaton Warrenville South (1-6) move ahead 26-23 after three quarters only to have the Raiders knot the score at 31-31 after regulation. While the home side was scoring just 2 points in the third quarter, Tigers forward Lily Huntzinger scored all 9 of her team's points.

After going scoreless in the first half, Huntzinger had a big third quarter. She followed it up with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and a hope-giving long-range jumper that closed her team's gap to 38-37 with 1:15 left in the second overtime.

“It was a slow start for me,” Huntzinger said. “At the beginning I have trouble with my confidence and I just have to get back in it, slow myself down and realize my options. I had to keep shooting. One miss and it can get in my head.”

After Huntzinger's last bucket gave her 15 points and kept her team alive, Lucas fed Coluzzi underneath for the three-point play that sealed the win.

“You know, I think obviously we both made mistakes, but we both did things well to get into overtime,” Raiders coach Morgan Eufrasio said. “It's early in the season so there's a lot we still need to work on.”

The Glenbard South coach was happy to escape with the win against a Tigers team that often gives teams fits with its patient offense and stingy zone defense.

“They're a great team and they always do things the right way,” she said. “They make us play hard defense the whole time and that zone gives us trouble. They don't give you anything easy so we really had to work for it.”

Tigers coach Rob Kroehnke expects his inexperienced squad to clean some things up and start to finish on the right side of tight games.

“We had our chances. We've got to do a better job rebounding the ball. We've got to take better shots,” he said. “Basic things that we have to do better. If we're going to have any chance we have to do those things better every game. And right now we're not there yet. We've got to keep learning and keep getting better. But we will.”

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