Stifling defense keys Wheaton North triumph at Glenbard West

Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton called his team's pressure defense like body punching in boxing. It sets the tone and wears down the opponent.

But on Thursday night it was more like a haymaker, stunning Glenbard West and knocking the Hilltoppers out of the game early.

"We also feel like you can't really replicate what we do," Eaton said. "It's hard to be ready for it, so it takes other teams some time to adjust."

By the time the Hilltoppers could adjust, they were in a huge hole. The Falcons never let them out during a 51-34 victory in the Class 4A Glenbard West regional championship.

Wheaton North, the sectional's No. 4 seed, forced eight turnovers in the first quarter to take a 16-6 lead, and then five more in the second en route to a 22-point advantage by halftime.

As Eaton hinted, No. 6 Glenbard West wasn't surprised by Wheaton North's pressure, but it still shook the Hilltoppers.

"We prepared a lot and knew what they were going to do but it's hard to simulate in practice the speed, the pace and the intensity of their defense," Glenbard West coach Kristi Faulkner said. "Give them a lot of credit. They did a really nice job. They played hard and are a really good team."

Falcons point guard Claire Hyde keyed the early outburst, scoring 11 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter.

The sophomore had it all working, burying a couple 3-pointers and scoring off one of her two.

"That was the game plan, to go out and be us, play North Side basketball, play hard, have fun," Hyde said. "It all starts in practice. Yesterday we had a great practice and we believe when we have good practices, we come out shots firing in games."

Hyde and company neutralized Glenbard West's biggest offensive assets - 6-foot-2 center Taylor Huff and 6-foot guard Maggie Stutelberg - by denying them the ball.

Wheaton North's defense kept Glenbard West out of half-court sets, thus keeping the ball away from Huff and Stutelberg.

"We had too many turnovers and we sped up ... playing a little faster than we would like," Faulkner said. "We have to take care of the ball before we run anything specific for Maggie and Taylor."

Ellie Hubbard took the scoring duties from Hyde in the second quarter, when Hubbard tallied 7 of her 12 points to lead her team to a 33-11 lead.

Wheaton North kept up its pressure after the break, forcing six more turnovers in the third quarter as Glenbard West finished with more than 20 on the night.

With a 25-point lead late in the third quarter, the Falcons slowed things down to limit the 'Toppers time of possession.

Glenbard West's Huff was finally able to get going with 6 points in the final period, but it was far too late. Wheaton North coasted to its third regional title in the past four years.

"For these kids be able to come out and win on the road, for them to be able to do that against Glenbard West, a really good program, it's a huge win for our program," Eaton said.