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Umbright helps Naperville Central remain red hot

Less than halfway through the fourth quarter, Lauren Umbright headed to the Naperville Central bench. Her work was done.

Even after turning into a cheerleader for her teammates for the final 4:15 of girls basketball play at Neuqua Valley, the Redhawks junior forward managed to score 14 points and pull down a game-high 16 rebounds in a 77-48 win, the seventh in eight games for the visitors.

With Umbright's uncanny ability to come away with rebounds, many on the offensive end, the red-hot Redhawks have been on a nice roll of late. The 5-foot-9 Umbright had 9 offensive boards in the first half alone and finished with an even 10 offensive boards on the night.

"She never fails to impress all of us. She's just physically active," Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum said of his ballhawk. "She's the best jumper on the team but also she just has a nose for the ball. She's just a great rebounder and she's becoming a better shooter. That's a pretty good game (with her 14 and 16)."

The Wildcats were without injured forward Jada Devine on Thursday and started two freshmen. When Ellie Wisner hit a 3-pointer late, Neuqua Valley (10-12, 0-3) closed to within 19-13 after one quarter, but the relentless Redhawks grew their lead to 36-20 at the half and 60-40 after three quarters.

"It's important to get a body on everybody. That way not only can we get more opportunities for a close basket but we can pass it out to our awesome 3-point shooters," said Umbright, whose teammates knocked down 13 shots from beyond the arc in the win. "Everybody was unselfish. We were looking for each other. It was just really nice the way we all worked together. It was really fun."

It was by no means a one-player show for Naperville Central, now 2-1 in the DuPage Valley Conference. Sara Opalka came off the bench to lead the way with 15 points, Gabi Melby had 14 points and Katlyn Allen did a little of everything while recording 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals.

"We're feeling pretty good. We like the way we moved the ball tonight and the energy we brought. Lauren's rebounds are awesome. She gives us a lot of extra opportunities that we wouldn't ordinarily have, which helps us drain some more shots," said Opalka, who sank a pair of 3s as the Redhawks outscored the hosts 17-7 in the second quarter on Thursday.

"They shoot 3-point shots all day long and we knew that," said Wildcats coach Mike Williams, whose team was paced by Wisner's 14 points. "Obviously not having Jada hurts us. It's an ankle, and it's probably another week and a half. But boxing out, we've got to be able to hit the boards."

For Umbright attacking the basketball is a mindset.

"Just always, I think it's a conscious effort to always go after the ball and to be disciplined," she said, attempting to explain how she regularly battles taller players and comes away with the ball. "Every time the ball goes up make sure you got a body on someone or so that you're ready to be on your toes or get down on the ground."

Claudia Gallegos added 11 points and Jessica Sun 10 as the Wildcats had three players reach double figures in scoring.

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