Berkompas keeps shooting, and Waubonsie Valley wins again

Mykah Berkompas rarely loses confidence, even when her shot is not falling.

The Waubonsie Valley junior guard is her team's main shooter, which is why she never hesitated when point guard Lauren McKnight passed her the ball in a tie game Thursday night.

Berkompas drained the open 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, with 4:28 left in the fourth quarter to give the visiting Warriors the lead for good in a 44-39 DuPage Valley Conference victory over Neuqua Valley.

Berkompas had made four consecutive shots in the first half but had missed her next five before sinking the shot put the Warriors (9-12, 3-2) ahead 41-38.

"I wasn't really seeing anything," Berkompas said. "I know we needed to stay composed and Coach (Brett Love) always tells me to shoot. So I had an open look and it just happened to go in."

Berkompas finished with 14 points for the Warriors, who have won three of their last four games following a six-game losing streak.

"She made a key shot," Love said. "Whenever we were down or whenever we needed a basket, she always hit a 3-pointer to bring us back or to keep us close. That essentially kept us alive."

Senior forward Ahniya Melton then made sure the Wildcats (10-15, 0-5) did not stay alive. She continued her recent strong play, racking up 14 points, 16 rebounds and 7 steals.

Melton had 11 offensive rebounds, many off her own misses, and she capped the scoring with 50 seconds remaining on a layup following a Berkompas steal. Melton and senior center Grace Setter, who contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, had the task of trying to contain Neuqua center Claudia Gallegos.

"I knew that was huge," Melton said of her board work. "I know that's one of my big roles on the team is to make sure I grab rebounds, especially in close games like this.

"Claudia, she's a strong girl so I definitely knew I needed to be on the boards and just be on my 'A' game on that aspect."

The 6-foot-2 Gallegos was a force at both ends, tallying a game-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. She hit her last 7 shots, including the putback that tied the game at 38 with 4:53 to go.

But the Wildcats did not score after that and Gallegos, who entered the fourth quarter with only two fouls, fouled out with 1:25 remaining.

"When she got to three (fouls) we were like, 'All right, we're going to keep taking it at her,'" Melton said. "We knew that once we got her out of the game that we had to make sure we kept the energy up and then they were just going to be a little rattled."

That's exactly what happened. Neuqua's last four possessions resulted in two turnovers, two missed free throws and a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer.

"The stuff at the end, a couple turnovers, those are the things in the crucial moments that you've got to take advantage of, but you can't fault their effort," Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. "They played hard.

"We just have to have a little bit more steady guard play and handle the pressure at the end."