WW South tips lead away from Lake Park
The lead changed hands just once in Tuesday's DuPage Valley Conference girls basketball game at Lake Park. That was all Wheaton Warrenville South needed.
Once the Tigers grabbed the lead at the start of the third quarter, they didn't let go, building a double-digit lead and then hanging on for a 46-40 victory in Roselle. In the process the Tigers (23-3, 13-2) kept their hopes alive for a share of the DVC championship.
"These last few games, we're treating them as playoff games," Tigers senior forward Kennedy Youngblood said. "I mean, they're that important to us."
They can earn that share with a win at Naperville North and a Naperville Central loss to Lake Park on Thursday. Having beaten the Lancers (18-8, 9-6), the Tigers now become their biggest fans.
Lake Park gave the Tigers a run for their money, though, taking a 16-8 lead midway through the second quarter.
"We executed our game plan to a 'T' I thought," Lancers coach Brian Rupp said.
WW South found its groove at that point, finishing the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 1 at halftime. The run continued after halftime when senior forward Jayla Johnson opened the third quarter with a lay-in to give the Tigers their first lead. It was the only lead they needed, and they weren't done building it. A Mira Emma 3-pointer capped a 17-1 run Tigers run to put them ahead 25-17.
"We just felt slow in the first quarter and we didn't really get our rhythm. The second quarter just something clicked and that run really helped us," Youngblood added.
The Lancers bounded back at the start of the fourth quarter, pulling within 2 points on a Darrione Rogers 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 Lake Park run.
But WW South answered with another 7-point run, Youngblood hitting a 3-pointer with 5:45 to play to make the score 39-30.
With 1:28 to go a Youngblood steal and layup gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead. She wasn't looking for the steal when it came around midcourt.
"No. It just kind of happened, and I'll take it," she said with a laugh.
Lake Park again cut the lead to 6 with a chance to make it a one-possession game in the waning seconds but couldn't get a shot to drop.
"That's the one thing I said in our last timeout, we need to be known as the team that's never going to quit," Rupp said, "and we didn't quit."
Rogers, the Lake Park sophomore, led all scorers with 26 points. She also grabbed 9 rebounds.
"You just saw the real deal right there," Tigers coach Rob Kroehnke said.
Jayla Johnson led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points. She also grabbed 5 rebounds and 4 steals.