Coach Mark Proctor can breathe a sigh of relief.
His eighth-ranked West Aurora team completed the first half of its DuPage Valley schedule Tuesday and managed to stay atop the league standings–barely.
The Blackhawks (17-3, 7-0) erased a 10-point deficit after the first quarter and then held off host Naperville Central 53-51 to remain in first place. The teams were tied for first entering the game.
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“Getting through the first round at 7-0 is an advantage but it doesn’t guarantee you a whole lot,” Proctor said.
Not as long as Naperville (11-9, 6-1) continues to show its mettle in league play. The Redhawks knocked off No. 16 Wheaton-Warrenville South on Saturday and led 17-7 after the first quarter Tuesday.
West Aurora went on an 11-0 run in the second quarter and built a 37-21 lead midway through the third. Naperville fought back with a 22-3 run to pull within 43-40 with 4 minutes 7 seconds remaining. Trailing by five points with 1 second left, Rebecca Traen hit a three-pointer for Naperville for the final margin.
Loyola 64, Evanston 45: Olga Gvozdenovic scored 19 and Elizabeth Fletcher had 18 points and nine rebounds for No. 2 Loyola (21-1). Maureen Gleason scored 14 for Evanston (12-6), which was outrebounded 28-15.
Mother McAuley 52, Regina 28: Thirteen players scored for No. 10 McAuley (15-5, 5-2) in the GCAC Red game. Amy Jones led the Mighty Macs with nine points and five steals.
Benet 60, St. Francis 38: No. 13 Benet (16-4) rolled with Jill Veselik’s 15 points.
Warren 37, Stevenson 34: No. 15 Warren (19-3, 7-1) survived in the North Suburban as Becky Moo scored 17 points. Stevenson is 9-10, 4-4. Warren and Libertyville are tied for first in the league.
Andrew 46, Bolingbrook 28: The Thunderbolts (9-8) won behind Tiffany Rudak’s 24 points.
Antioch 55, Zion-Benton 35: Antioch (11-8, 3-5) rolled in the North Suburban behind Aja Brown (17 points) and Nicole Langley (16).
Bremen 54, Bradley 48: Carey Becker (19 points) hit six three-pointers, and Patrice Jennings scored 17 and added 10 assists for Bremen (15-5) in the non-conference matchup.
Good Counsel 73, Mother Guerin 64: Bridget Carlson had 31 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for Good Counsel (17-4, 4-1) in the GCAC White.
Hillcrest 72, Eisenhower 30: Shavonna Hunter had 26 points, seven steals and six assists to lead Hillcrest (17-2, 7-0) in the SICA Central. Eisenhower dropped to 1-18, 1-6.
Joliet 70, Romeoville 63: Joliet (13-9) prevailed as Tracy Phillips led four in double figures with 18 points.
Kelvyn Park 51, Senn 37: Sabrina Rodriguez led the Panthers (7-3, 6-2) with 22 points in the Blue North. Jermella Ruther scored 21 for Senn.
Libertyville 50, Lake Forest 48: Libertyville (12-7, 7-1) trailed by one point at the half but scored the first four points of the third quarter to go up 30-26 in the North Suburban game. Its largest lead was 49-43 with 35 seconds left, but Sarah Spain (16 points) scored five straight for Lake Forest (15-5, 6-2) to bring the Scouts within one. With 13 seconds left, Libertyville’s Allison Farrington (18 points) sank a free throw and Lake Forest’s next shot attempt fell short.
“I tried to control the ball in the second half because we turned it over too much at the beginning,” Farrington said. “Our entire team deserves credit because we shut down their two big scorers–(Janie) Hodgkinson and Spain–in the second half.”
Hodgkinson (10 points, 12 rebounds) was scoreless in the second half.
Lockport 54, Providence 42: Lockport (12-7) won behind Trisha Jakel’s 16 points.Lauren Cramer’s 16 paced Providence (13-9).
Maria 65, Morton 61: Maria (18-6) used a 7-2 run early in the fourth to break open a 53-53 tie and held. Sophomore Mary Cain led the way with 30 points. Jasmin Amevaga’s 14 paced Morton (8-10).
Nazareth 42, Illiana Christian 40: Mandy Lindwall hit a basket with 3.3 seconds left to lift Nazareth (16-4, 8-1) in the Private School League. Danielle Moles led the victors with 16 points. Illiana is 15-4, 6-3.
Oak Forest 60, Tinley Park 30: Kristin Kwasny scored 14 points for Oak Forest (11-7, 5-2) in the SICA Central.
Phillips 60, King 35: Patricia Wansley had 31 points and 15 rebounds and Catrina Bush added 22 points for Phillips (13-5, 6-1 Red South).
Providence-St. Mel 35, Holy Trinity 34: St. Mel (9-6) won on Nyasha Scott’s jump shot with 4 seconds left. Scott scored 17 points.
Ridgewood 55, Evergreen Park 47: Kristin Keglovitz scored 23 points to lead Ridgewood (10-8, 4-2) in the Suburban Prairie Blue.
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Riverside-Brookfield 51, Leyden 43 Carly Williams led R-B (5-11) with 16 points. Shavaughne Desecki’s 20 paced Leyden (6-10).
Roosevelt 91, Lincoln Park 43: Lashawn Taylor (32 points, 14 rebounds), Kristy Schneider (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Lenita Hinkle (28 points) powered Roosevelt (11-6, 6-1) in the Red North.
St. Francis de Sales 56, Mt. Assisi 41: April Rhodes’ 18 points and Roberta Hooper’s 17 paced De Sales (11-8). Jodie Welsh scored 15 for Mt. Assisi.
Seton Academy 58, Bloom 50: LaKisha Hoffman scored 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as Seton (13-5) prevailed.
Sullivan 55, Clemente 15: Camille Calhoun scored 26 points for Sullivan (13-4) in non-conference play.
Taft 41, Steinmetz 29: Latasha White totaled 16 points and 26 rebounds for Taft (13-5, 6-1) in the Red North. Naelonda Edmon scored 16 for Steinmetz, which fell to 4-3 in league play.
Trinity 61, Josephinum 42: Trinity (11-10, 4-2 GCAC White) won behind Margaret Spencer’s 15 points, nine assists and six steals.