Naperville North wins 3rd straight DVC crown
It was a crazy, insane start for Naperville North in Friday's DuPage Valley Conference rivalry contest with Naperville Central.
Not only did the host Huskies storm ahead for a 17-0 lead on the Redhawks, but they did so without a single point from All-American Greta Kampschroeder. Sure the Oregon State-bound Kampschroeder was dishing off assists and leading a Huskies defense that forced turnovers on Central's first four possessions, but it was the kids who blitzed the visitors with basket after basket on the way to a 30-5 lead after one quarter.
Junior Sarah Crossett had four quick baskets and sophomores Abby Drendel and Layla Henderson knocked down 3-pointers as the home team started fast and breezed to a 68-43 victory while locking up a third straight DVC crown.
"We came in very well prepared. We had a good week of practice and tonight we had good energy from the start," said Henderson, who tallied a career-high 21 points including six 3s.
Henderson, who had been struggling a little with her shot of late, was thrilled to complete the sweep of the rival Redhawks and to have the North team prove once again that it's not a one-man team.
"Recently my shot's been off and I got in the gym worked as hard as I could to get my shot back," she said. "It's nice to beat those guys because they're our rivals. Greta obviously, is an All-American. She's insane. But we have a lot of good players."
For the Redhawks, who dropped to 7-5 on the year and 5-3 in the DVC, it was just too deep a hole they dug in the first quarter. Gabi Melby opened the scoring for Central with a 3-pointer that banked in off the glass. But Kampschroeder then scored 8 of her 15 points before the quarter came to a close as the Huskies built a 25-point lead after eight minutes on their way to winning their eighth conference game in as many tries.
"That was a blast. A lot of fun," Huskies coach Erin Colletti said. "Our sophomores were on fire and everyone was great tonight."
Henderson led the way with 21 points while Crossett and Kampschroeder each tallied 15 for the 10-1 Huskies. Melby was great for the Redhawks, finishing with a game-high 25 points, but she couldn't help the visitors climb out of the huge early hole.
"We have a lot of talented players on our team for sure," said North's Crossett, who added 7 rebounds on Friday. "We're so confident playing with each other. It's always a fun win (against Redhawks). We came out with a lot of energy it was fun definitely."
Insanely fun on Friday.