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Plainfield South defeats Neuqua Valley

It's only November.

So Neuqua Valley shouldn't be too concerned about a 56-51 girls basketball loss against Plainfield South in the Thursday evening installment of the Hinsdale South-hosted Brenda Whitesell Invitational.

"It's a long season, you don't want to get too caught up in the one loss," Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. "If it's the regional championship, then it's different. We're young. It's a growing process, it's always easier for them than it is for the coaches because you know we take it to heart."

Defending the Cougars' backcourt tandem of senior Shannon Smith and sophomore Aniya Mabry was a nightmare for the Wildcats. Smith led all scorers with 21 points, 1 point off her varsity best. Mabry piled in a personal-high 16 points using an explosive first step that Cougars coach Lincoln DePaula described as the best in the Southwest Prairie Conference.

"I was just getting open, I had a lot of energy," Mabry said after the game. "Making shots, making good decisions, wasn't going too fast. I was just going my own pace."

"They're good players, but I thought we did a better job in the second half on them," Williams added. "You need to play in front of them, you can't let them drive and take shots and they did that tonight."

Sharpshooting sophomore Ellie Wisner led the way with 13 points for the Wildcats. Center Claudia Gallegos added 10 more.

A sloppy start to the game featured numerous lead changes with the two teams slugging to a 12-11 Cougar advantage after one quarter.

But then the Smith show commenced, and the Cougars began to take over. Plainfield South used a 9-0 run at the start of the second quarter to create some breathing room, leading 21-11 with about 4:30 to go in that quarter.

The 5-foot-4 sophomore finished the half with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and 3 for 4 from the free-throw line.

"We really pass the ball (well), and I give all the credit to my teammates," Smith said. "Sometimes you're hot and I can't thank them (enough) for all the passes."

A 3-point field goal from Wisner with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter cut the Wildcats' deficit to 2 points, the closest they'd been since the first quarter. But on the next possession Smith battled for a tough rebound, collected it and went up strong, drawing a foul as time expired in the quarter. She sank two free throws to extend Plainfield South's lead back up to 5 points.

The 5-point advantage was all the Cougars needed as the two teams battled to a 15-15 draw in the fourth quarter, equating to a 56-51 victory for Plainfield South.

"Unforced turnovers and they came out with (more) energy," Williams said. "When you give a team life, they take advantage of it and they did. Plainfield South took advantage of it. Give them credit for it. They didn't stop playing and we made some very lackadaisical plays on both ends of the court. Our kids will be all right, they'll bounce back."

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