Glenbard South returns to final with win vs. Wheaton North
Circumstances have changed significantly for senior Akayhla Dixon since she last played with the Glenbard South girls basketball program as a freshman.
"Actually it's been better than I thought it would be like," Dixon said. "Working as a team and working with new teammates has been better than freshman year."
As the Raiders, their success simply continues.
They will seek their second Wheaton North Bill Neibch Falcon Classic championship in three seasons Saturday after outlasting Wheaton North 43-38 in Friday's semifinals.
No. 7-seed Glenbard South (10-3) meets No. 8-seed Elk Grove (10-5), which has won five straight.
"It's really fun. I didn't know what it would be like this tournament, how we would do, and we've been stepping up and playing as a team," said Glenbard South senior Rocky LaPonte, a reserve for the 2017 Falcon Classic champion and starter on last season's Class 3A runner-up.
"(Dixon) helps us a lot. She's a really good addition on defense and offense, too."
In her usual reserve role, Dixon had a team-high 16 points, 8 rebounds and three 3-pointers, her last putting the Raiders ahead 33-32 in the fourth quarter. It was part of the Raiders' 9-0 run that turned a 32-26 deficit into a 35-32 lead with 3:14 remaining.
Dixon transferred back to Glenbard South after two seasons with Bishop McNamara, where she started on varsity last season. As a freshman, Dixon played on the Raiders' sophomore level with minimal varsity action.
"(I try to) find the openings, taking seams and kicking out. I never really shoot. I just started to take shots and then they were falling tonight," Dixon said.
"I'm proud of us as a team. This is big for me, honestly, coming back. I have to give credit my team. They help me all throughout the floor and all throughout the game."
Great defense and leadership from LaPonte and junior Lauren Cohen preserved the late lead. Cohen had 8 of her 10 points in the fourth quarter and LaPonte finished with 7 points.
The Raiders had no turnovers in the fourth quarter after 16 through three quarters, 8 of them Wheaton North steals.
"The thing I'm most proud of tonight is that we were able to handle the pressure and we stayed calm in those big minutes," Glenbard South coach Morgan Eufrasio said. "They're a really good basketball team, they play really good competition night in and night out so that was a fun win for us, especially here in their place."
Junior Ellie Hubbard and sophomore Claire Hyde had 13 and 11 points for No. 6-seed Wheaton North (8-3), respectively. Hyde banked her third 3 to close the game to 37-36 with 46 seconds left.
Senior Caroline Garner contributed 7 points, including a 3 that put the Falcons ahead 28-21 with 4:59 left in the third quarter. A Hubbard putback gave the Falcons their 32-26 lead with 6:59 left before back-to-back inside buckets from Cohen and Iman Sellars began the Raiders' comeback.
The Falcons only trailed 38-36 late but turned the ball over without a shot.
"We gave up 17 (points) in the fourth quarter," said Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton, whose team previously lost to Barrington with a fourth-quarter lead.
"Part of that is being young and we've just got to figure out how to defend better, but you've got to give credit to Glenbard South. They came out and made some big shots down the stretch. We've got to get a little bit stronger finish against a good team like Glenbard South."
After a Glenbard South timeout, LaPonte made a baseball-style inbounds pass downcourt to Cohen, whose three-point play opened a 41-36 gap with 16.1 seconds.
"That (baseball pass) was kind of planned if it was open," LaPonte said. "We practice it a lot. I'm used to it."
After Hyde made a slightly contested layup, Cohen and LaPonte added free throws. LaPonte's with 2.1 seconds came after making a leaping interception of the Falcons' half-court inbounds pass.
"Lauren and Roc (LaPonte) just killed it defensively and then everyone else was just helping out all over, cleaning the glass, dong what we needed to do," Eufrasio said.
Besides Dixon, Eufrasio praised reserve India Lucas, who helped run the offense when Cohen was on the bench during the second quarter with two fouls.
Garner started in place of junior Ella Kochar, who struck her head during Thursday's game. Kochar started in place of senior Rachel Brady, who injured her knee during Monday's opener.