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Title a first for Glenbard South

Just how many rebounds and blocked shots Glenbard South junior Maggie Bair amassed was a matter of debate after Friday's championship game of Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.

The 6-foot-2 Bair and the Raiders were in total agreement about the importance of their 40-27 victory over West Aurora.

The Raiders (14-1) continued the greatest start in program history by winning the 16-team tournament for the first time. They previously never finished higher than third and were fifth last season, when they reached the Class 3A sectional semifinals.

"It's a special feeing and it's super cool that we're a part of making history," said Bair, a Drake recruit selected as the tournament's MVP and credited with 23 rebounds and 5 blocks besides her game-best 16 points.

"It's a great feeling, but it also gives us a sense that we can go farther in the postseason. It's kind of a building block. Making school history was definitely an added bonus, but we wanted to show that we can hang with these 4A teams and some good teams."

Seniors Mady Carli added 14 points, and Ally Daca 7 points and 5 rebounds for the third-seeded Raiders.

All-tournament junior Dajour Miles led fifth-seeded West Aurora (11-4) with 10 points and senior Skylar Doby added 9 with two 3s. Senior Kiyanna Rodgers also earned all-tournament honors.

Glenbard South's height advantage with Bair and Daca fueled a 37-19 rebounding advantage. The Raiders only made 13 of 42 shots with two 3-pointers, but West Aurora was 11 for 45 with three 3s.

"We did a nice job of rebounding. That was one of our keys," said Glenbard South coach Morgan Kasperek, who won multiple Falcon Classic titles as a player for Hinsdale Central.

"I'm proud of the girls. I thought they fought hard all night, and West Aurora just kept coming. We had to stay focused and play our game and not go run up and down with them."

Despite their shooting the Blackhawks nearly pulled off another comeback like Thursday's 47-45 win over top-seeded Wheaton North behind eight 3s after trailing by 14 at halftime.

The Blackhawks scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to close to 29-23 with 7:02 left but then went scoreless for nearly the next six minutes as the Raiders pulled ahead 38-23.

"(Taking second we've gained) confidence in each other. I think they know they can play with the big teams," West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl said.

"Those first four (missed) layups just really hurt us. (After) the first four steals. It just kind of took the wind out of our sails. We just had some missed shots and miscommunication on defense. Bair is an awesome player. She just shut us down trying to drive and just kind of took our game away."

Bair led all tournament players with 57 rebounds - nearly 20 more than anybody else - shared first with 13 blocks and was third with 71 points.

Four of Bair's 7 baskets came on putbacks, two of her own missed shots.

"They're a tough team, a very physical team, so I'm kind of surprised I got that many (rebounds), but it was hard," Bair said. "We stressed mainly not letting them take outside shots. We decided to let them come into the middle and me and Ally could stand there and block them."

Both teams frustrated each other early with energetic man-to-man defensive efforts. West Aurora led 5-2 after the first quarter but then endured a 2-point second quarter.

Carli and Bair scored the last eight points of the second quarter between them to give the Raiders and 18-7 halftime lead.

Bair gladly shared the postgame spotlight with the three senior starters. Like Bair, Daca, Carli and Sarah Cohen are multiyear starters for the Raiders, whose only loss is to defending Class 4A champion Geneva in the season opener.

"It's a great confidence booster for us," Daca said. "I believe everyone had known we hadn't won so everyone really wanted it more now because we wanted to be the first to win."

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