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Practice pays off for Waubonsie Valley

had been exactly one week since the Waubonsie Valley girls basketball team had played and the rest and time devoted to aspects of their game showed in a 69-54 home win Thursday night against Naperville Central.

"It was definitely a good thing. We had a chance to work on some things," said Warriors coach Brett Love.

It was all Waubonsie (12-8 overall, 3-3 DuPage Valley Conference) at the start. Just 1:10 into the game, Central (10-9, 4-2) had committed three turnovers and the Warriors led 5-0.

Waubonsie went on to lead 26-6 at the end of the first quarter.

"We were trying to figure out how we could limit their 3s. They made 10 in the first half," said Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum. "They probably didn't want to go into halftime with the way they were shooting."

Although the Redhawks trailed 44-21 at intermission, their game was coming to life with a 15-point output and six of Haley Hayes' game-high 23 points coming during the stanza. Hayes also pulled down nine rebounds.

"Our shots were falling and we were moving the ball around to get the best possible shot," said Waubonsie junior Taylor Curry, who finished with a team-high 16 points.

Central managed to get the Warriors' advantage down to 17 twice in the third quarter, but trailed 55-34 at the end of 24 minutes.

The Redhawks erupted for 20 points in the fourth quarter and cut the Warriors' lead to 64-54 with 1:53 remaining in the game. Two 3-point baskets from Aditi Prasad and a 6-of-9 performance at the free-throw line sparked Central. Prasad followed Hayes on the scoresheet with 10 points.

"We were making smart decisions, making high IQ plays (in the first half)," said Warriors senior Lauren Threat, who with Hannah Laub, each scored 13 points for Waubonsie. "Once they (Central) came back, we made sure our lead didn't get too far down. We pulled ourselves back and started making decisions like we did in the first half."

Amari Banks was the fourth Waubonsie player scoring in double digits with 10 points.

Nussbaum said he was pleased with the effort of the Redhawks.

"We knew they (Waubonsie) could shoot. They were the better team. We have to get better. You score 54 points and you should win," he said.

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