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Glenbard South survives West Aurora in OT

Glenbard South has put special emphasis on playing tough defense this season after losing all-state center Maggie Bair to Drake University.

It wasn't just the Raiders, though, who brought a fiery defensive mentality to Thursday night's matchup against West Aurora.

Glenbard South edged the Blackhawks 33-31 in overtime in the quarterfinals of Wheaton North's Bill Neibch Falcon Classic despite shooting just 11 of 32 from the field.

Points were at a premium starting from the opening tip: after one quarter of play, West Aurora led 7-5.

The Raiders continued to ratchet up the defensive intensity, holding the Blackhawks to a mere 3 points in the second quarter. Glenbard South only scored 8 themselves in the period and took a 13-10 lead into halftime.

West Aurora mustered just 9 shot attempts in the first half, including a 1-for-3 showing from the field in the entire second quarter.

Glenbard South maintained its defensive pressure to open the second half by allowing only two Blackhawks baskets in the third period. Junior guard Lauren Cohen poured in 8 points in the quarter as the Raiders stretched their lead to 23-14 heading into the fourth.

The final eight minutes of regulation saw West Aurora break through the Glenbard South pressure and claw its way back into the game. Blackhawks guard Jalyssa Carrasco drained a 3-pointer with two minutes left to bring West Aurora within 1. On the next offensive possession for West Aurora, senior Abigail Kuhn hit a 2-pointer to give her team a 27-26 lead.

Cohen made the front end of a 1-and-1 with 11.5 seconds left to tie and send the game into overtime.

With 27 seconds left on the clock in the overtime period and the game still tied, West Aurora committed its 10th team foul, sending the Raiders' Gianna Coluzzi to the free-throw line. The sophomore sank both free throws to give Glenbard South a 33-31 lead.

Carrasco took two shots on the Blackhawks' final possession but failed to connect on either as time expired.

"We have to control the tempo to win basketball games, and we're a good defensive team, so that's our message going into overtime," Glenbard South coach Morgan Eufrasio said. "They get one shot, you box out and then it's all about defense."

Cohen and fellow guard Rocky LaPonte led the Raiders in scoring with 10 points each.

Carrasco paced West Aurora with 13, while senior post player Olivia Vanderwoude added 10.

"In the second half we struggled a little bit with pressure. West Aurora is a good, athletic basketball team," Eufrasio said. "But I thought in the end we were able to get the ball to our guards and they withstood it. So a win is a win. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win."

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