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Stutelberg's plan results in success for Glenbard West

On Tuesday Glenbard West's Maggie Stutelberg was on the bench with foul trouble nearly the entire first half of her team's loss to York.

She didn't like that very much.

So in the Hilltoppers matchup Saturday afternoon at the 30th annual Coach Kipp's Hoopsfest at Willowbrook, she came out firing.

"I just knew I wanted to be in (this) game and went out there and was aggressive and was smart with my decisions and thinking," Stutelberg said.

The plan worked wonders for the Hilltoppers, as Stutelberg racked up 18 first-half points en route to a game-high 23 in the team's 55-42 win over Plainfield North in Villa Park.

Stutelberg was credited with four 3-pointers, a pair of layups and a pair of free throws as her team raced out to a 12-2 lead after one quarter and a 30-15 advantage after two.

"Today she did a really nice job of mixing up her game," West coach Kristi Faulkner said of Stutelberg. "A lot of variety, with shooting the 3 well, she also looked to attack the basket. She had 8 rebounds, which was really good to see. She took a charge.

"Those are things she can control - the energy and the effort, and just the grit she played with, was really awesome."

Not to be outdone, Glenbard West center Taylor Huff was again a force inside, totaling 10 first-half points on her way to 18 overall.

Huff and Stutelberg combined for 28 of the Hilltoppers 30 first-half points. The inside-out combo makes for a balanced attack.

"Me and (Huff) have been playing with each other for two years now. It's been really fun," Stutelberg said.

A third Hilltopper, Addison Yeager, got more into the scoring mix in the second half.

Yeager, a defensive stalwart, added 10 points - many off slick cuts toward the basket - to her blue-collar stat line that included 8 rebounds, 4 of them offensive.

"It's great to see," Faulkner said. "We learn from each game and want our players to be scorers, and Addison has done a tremendous job on the boards all season. ... But it's fun to see she has the ability to not only knock down jump shots but get open layups on backdoor cuts."

Glenbard West did have to overcome a re-energized second-half effort from Plainfield North (12-10), which outscored the Hilltoppers 9-8 in the third and 18-17 in the fourth.

The Tigers' Erin Henry - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals - and Jaylyn Patterson - 12 points and 18 rebounds - were forces from the second quarter on and didn't make things easy on Glenbard West.

"I think (the team) just figured out, 'We're sick of this; let's step it up,'" Tigers coach Michaela Reedy said. " ... We switched up the lineup in the second half with players who were working their hardest on the floor and that really got the girls on the bench pumped."

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