Drendel, Kickel spark Naperville North vs. rival

The presence of a Division I athlete on a basketball court can be rather distracting.

"You have to concentrate on No. 33 all the time," Naperville Central girls basketball coach Andy Nussbaum said of Naperville North star Greta Kampschroeder in the aftermath of the schools' DuPage Valley Conference game on Tuesday night.

The Oregon State-bound Kampschroeder did her fair share of damage, but the Huskies' Abby Drendel and Alison Kickel supplied knockout punches as well in their 53-33 victory at Naperville Central.

Drendel and Kickel combined for five 3-pointers, with the former, a sophomore, establishing a new career-high in the process with 17 points.

Kickel had 6 of her 8 points with two third-quarter 3-pointers for Naperville North.

"I thought the 3-pointers Kickel hit were daggers," Nussbaum said.

Kampschroeder scored all of her game-high 18 points on conventional field goals.

In all likelihood, the tape of the first quarter will not rest in the IHSA archives some day.

The neighborhood rivals combined to miss their first 15 shots of the game.

Naperville North, which extended its season-opening winning streak to four games while improving to 3-0 in league play, never trailed.

Naperville Central, led by 8 points apiece by Megan Norkett and Tennessee-Martin-bound sharpshooter Gabi Melbi, fell to 3-3, 2-1.

Drendel hit two second-quarter 3-pointers to augment the 10 points Kampschroeder authored in the first two quarters.

With the Redhawks ever-conscious of where Kampschroeder was on the floor, Drendel and Kickel had plenty of room to launch their five made downtown jumpers.

"We share the ball really well," said Kickel, a senior. "We really talked about not rushing our shots and keeping our composure. It was a nice feeling to help the team."

Leading 22-15 at the intermission, Naperville North did not even need their four-year starting standout to register a point.

Naperville Central nearly matched its first-half output with 13 third-quarter points, but the Huskies only created greater separation as Sarah Crossett had three inside scores to complement the 11 combined points from Drendel and Kickel.

Kampschroeder and Drendel made the final score academic as the fourth quarter belonged to the two of them, adding 3 more field goals.

"Drendel really hurt us," Nussbaum said. "You have to give her credit."

"Once you hit the first one, you want the ball," Drendel said of her perimeter shooting. "It makes you more confident. My AAU coach helped me find my spots on the court to be my best."

The Huskies were also able to make Melby a nonfactor in the game with their matchup zone defense.

"She is insane," Drendel said of Melby. "She will shoot from anywhere."

Nussbaum was circumspect after the loss, considering the environment associated with an intense city atmosphere was lacking.

"It's kind of different," Nussbaum said. "It's kind of surreal. Having said that, I'm glad to be playing - even if we got beat."