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Hare gets hot, scores 30 in win over Waubonsie Valley

The momentum in basketball, like most other sports, can change in a blink of an eye.

The Naperville North girls basketball team showed this in its 67-36 win over host Waubonsie Valley on Thursday night in Aurora.

Although the Huskies (19-2 overall, 5-0 DuPage Valley Conference) enjoyed a double-digit lead beginning midway through the second quarter after the Warriors (11-8, 2-3) had pulled to within seven just moments before, Waubonsie's deficit did not seem insurmountable.

Enter North senior Mackenzie Hare, who scored 10 points in approximately a minute which include three 3-point baskets and a made free throw after she was fouled on the third 3-pointer. That put the Huskies up 49-22 with 5:51 remaining in the third period and the team never looked back. Hare finished with six 3-point baskets and a game-high 30 points.

"I felt it," said Hare of her third-quarter shooting. "Earlier we needed to take better shots and take care of the ball. We tightened up and my teammates got the rebounds and kicked it back out."

Layla Henderson, Sarah Crossett and Peyton Fenner got the majority of North's rebounds on the evening. Crossett also finished scoring in double digits with 11. Abby Drendel had nine points.

"We have rebound drills in practice. We always focus on them. They're a big part of our game," Fenner said.

The Huskies led 60-30 after three quarters. North coach Erin Colletti said neither team had put on the brakes then.

"I said to Molly (assistant coach Molly Murray) when it was 60-30 that it didn't feel that way. We were still playing fast and they were putting pressure on us. It had been one week since we played and we were working out the kinks at game speed," Colletti said.

Taylor Curry led Waubonsie with 11 points. Amari Banks had 10.

"North is a really good team. They came out aggressively," Curry said. "Mackenzie is a great player. Every shot was going in.

"We won't let this loss affect us. We'll learn from it and move on."

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