St. Charles North clinches first regional title since 2008 in 60-27 win over Wheaton North

St. Charles North, finally, can dance.

The North Stars waited 15 years to do so.

"Going into it, I had an amazing feeling about this game and I just knew that we can play well and win the game," St. Charles North senior Julia Larson said following the North Stars' 60-27 victory over Wheaton North in the Class 4A regional final on Thursday.

Larson, after all, has already lived through the pressures of the sports postseason as an integral member of the North Stars' state title winning team with softball last spring.

"I've been in this situation before and I think that pressure that I felt was three times what this was," Larson said. "Obviously, it was a big moment for this team and for us, but I knew that we were going to pull through because the defense was going to carry us there."

St. Charles North (26-6) built a 36-12 halftime advantage, largely thanks to second-chance points off rebounds and forcing 14 Wheaton North turnovers. The North Stars also charted 22 first-half deflections. The Falcons went scoreless the first 2:51 of the second quarter until Zoey Bohmer snapped it on a jumper to cut the deficit to 20-9, but after Eden Pearson's three-point play, they went scoreless for the final 3:14 of the half.

The North Stars kept rolling, forcing a running clock in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and putting reserves in.

The feeling of winning a regional is one North Stars coach Mike Tomczak has chased since taking over the program in 2017.

"I got a little emotional toward the end," Tomczak said. "The advice I got from our athletic director [Joe Benoit] ... it was a busy day at work; it was actually so busy I didn't get a chance to think about the game. Maybe that helped. He said: 'Coach, enjoy it. Enjoy every second of it.'"

Tomczak soon was able to drape a net around his neck.

" ... The end of that third quarter, it really started to sink-in and I got to give one of my best friends and my assistant coach [Grant Oler] a big hug and got a little emotional there at the end," Tomczak said.

St. Charles North advances to the sectional semifinal vs. Batavia on Tuesday. The conference rivals, and the last time, Bulldogs star Brooke Carlson cooked for 42 points, a career-high.

But, for now, the celebration can sustain.

Wheaton North (16-15) won a regional title last season en route to a sectional final appearance, but the turnovers and defensive pressure was ultimately a storm it had trouble weathering.

"Basically, at halftime, the message was: relax," Falcons coach Tyler Bantz said. "It seemed like we played with our hair on fire a lot in the first half and we were trying to get the ball away as soon as possible. For a team that jumps a lot of passing lanes, is long and athletic ... they've done it to us a couple of times [this season]. I thought we played a little too fast. They took us out of our comfort zone and that's their MO: They take people out of their comfort zone and get after you."

For Alyssa Hughes, a four-year varsity starter, the achievement carried obvious weight, considering her sophomore season was cut short due to the pandemic.

"This has been a goal of this team since I was here freshmen year," Hughes said following her 18-point performance. " ... This regional win is for all the teams in the past who have helped [get us] to this point."

North Stars junior Reagan Sipla added 17 points, while Katrina Stack had eight points and Laney Stark had four points.

"It feels awesome to win as a team," Sipla said. It's a great feeling. We want to keep going. Obviously, this is exciting, but we think we have more to go."

Bohmer shined with 15 points and six rebounds, while Eden Pearson had eight points and seven rebounds.

"She does a lot of that dirty gritty work for us," Bantz said. "But, she's also our second-leading scorer average-wise throughout the season."