Hyde, Wheaton North ready from the start at WW South
Hours before Wheaton North traveled across town to Wheaton Warrenville South for Friday's girls basketball game, sophomore point guard Claire Hyde saw reason to believe her Falcons would have a good night.
"We were just ready," Hyde said of Wheaton North's afternoon shootaround. "You could tell, right from the get-go. everyone was on. Everyone was shooting the way they were supposed to. That's where it starts. And that's where it's going to end too."
Sure enough, Hyde and the visiting Falcons got off to a scorching start on their way to a 40-24 DuKane Conference victory. Hyde scored 12 of her game-best 17 points in the first quarter, when Wheaton North took a 20-8 lead.
"We've really been trying to emphasize pushing the ball a little bit, too, and getting out and running, and I thought they did a nice job tonight," Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton said.
The big play in that first quarter was Hyde's 3-pointer from several feet behind the arc with 1:29 left in the period. She made the shot and was fouled, converting the free throw for a 4-point play.
"Oh, I think that was just such a big momentum swing," said Hyde, who added 5 rebounds. "But I was just looking for opportunities to do what we do. Opportunity presented itself, and I know my abilities. My team knows my abilities, and just go out there and hit that. It was a big momentum swing."
Hyde said she had no idea how far behind the arc she was.
"I just saw some space and I was just like, let it fly. That's what my dad tells me," she said.
The Falcons (6-2, 2-1) only scored 20 points in the final three quarters as the Tigers (2-7, 1-2) slowed the game to a pace more their liking. WW South cut the Wheaton North lead to 6 in the second quarter but could get no closer.
"We had talked a lot about it and just about being comfortable and playing a little bit slower sometimes too," Eaton said. "I thought we turned it over a couple of times where we didn't need to, but for the most part I thought we did a pretty good job of just being able to control the basketball and get some big shots down the stretch too."
Junior guard Julia Simon, a Louisville recruit for soccer, added 8 points for Wheaton North.
"She sort of us makes us go on the defensive side of the ball, and her offensive game has really come along since last year," Eaton said of Simon.
Sophomore Lily Huntzinger led the Tigers with 8 points. Huntzinger was the only Tiger who had played meaningful minutes in this rivalry game before Friday.
"It took us a while to just settle down," said Tigers coach Rob Kroehnke, noting his team's 24 turnovers. "We didn't play well defensively in the first quarter. Obviously didn't really take care of the ball the whole game."