West Chicago coach Kim Wallner has been waiting for Sarah Bass to have this kind of game.
The 5-foot-6-inch junior guard scored a game-high 20 points Thursday to lead No. 11 West Chicago to a 52-46 DuPage Valley victory over Naperville North.
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“Sarah Bass had an unbelievable game,” said Wallner, whose team improved to 16-2, 3-1. “I was waiting for her to break out and have a game like this. She’s had a lot of games like this at the lower levels, but she really stepped it up offensively.”
Bass had seven field goals–including two three-pointers–and was 4-of-7 from the free-throw line. She helped start a fourth-quarter Wildcats rally with four free throws and a field goal over the first 4:10 of the period as West Chicago turned a 41-35 deficit into a 47-44 lead.
The victory was the Wildcats’ second over the Huskies (10-6, 3-1) in a week. West Chicago held on to beat Naperville North 43-41 last Thursday in the third-place game of the Benet-Naperville North tournament.
And Wallner expected the Huskies to come out strong in Thursday’s rematch.
“My kids had a wakeup call with the intensity level [Naperville North] came out and played with,” Wallner said. “But we were very, very tenacious and we stayed with things.
“When things were not going so well, I thought the kids really stayed with it. We got down twice and came back.”
West Chicago held a 26-25 lead entering the second half. But the edge was quickly erased as Naperville North opened with a 9-0 run on the way to a 41-35 lead entering the final period.
The Wildcats rallied in the fourth, outscoring the Huskies 17-5, including 9-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Free-throw shooting proved to be critical throughout as West Chicago hit 17-of-29 from the line while the Huskies made just 5-of-7.
West Chicago locked down the win over a four-second span late in the game. Junior guard Meghan Young hit the first of two free throws with 1:07 to play to give her team a 48-46 lead. She missed the second shot, but teammate Beth Brinn got the rebound and put it back for a field goal and a 50-46 lead with 1:04 remaining. Young added 10 points for the winners while Jamie Schmidt had nine. Rachel Karos led Naperville North with 12.
Jack McCarthy.
Naperville Central 62, Wheaton Warrenville South 55: No. 13 Naperville Central (12-5, 3-1) prevailed in the DuPage Valley as Christina Kowalskisank six three-pointers and finished with 22 points. Brittany Radwan added 14 points and Candace Park pulled down nine rebounds.
“Wheaton [Warrenville] South played very well,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. “They did not quit. Maybe we didn’t play as well as we liked, but we did the things we had to do to win and I was pleased about that.”Wheaton Warrenville South (3-12, 2-2) received 17 points and six rebounds from Abigail Gerlesits, while Hillary Samek added 15 points and Maureen Tarey had 13.
Sandburg 49, Lincoln-Way 29: Lyndsey Krieger scored 12 points and Bridget O’Rourke had eight as the No. 14 Eagles (12-5, 3-1) rolled in the SICA West.
Rich South 51, Rich Central 25: Rachel Reed’s 17 points paced No. 17 Rich South (15-2, 4-0) in the SICA South. Rich Central (3-11, 1-3), which trailed 30-11 at the half, was led by Nychi Heath’s 11 points.
Glenbard North 61, Glenbard East 28: Dagmara Bartula led No. 18 Glenbard North (15-1, 3-1) in the DuPage Valley with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. Jackie Falson added 18 points and Ranata Bartula had 11. Glenbard East (2-14, 0-4) opened with a 4-0 lead, but North scored the next 22 points of a 35-3 run.
“We played really well early on both ends of the floor,” Glenbard North coach Larry Jenkins said. “Our defense stimulated our offense. We did shoot the ball well, and we found open people for shots.”
At halftime, Glenbard North led 39-9 and was 18-of-26 from the field. The Panthers finished 26-of-51. Beecher 64, Grant Park 43: Jessica Williams had 12 points and Megan Stluka added 11 as the Bobcats (8-7, 4-1) cruised in the River Valley.
Bolingbrook 60, Romeoville 55: Chloe Kerr’s 16 points led Bolingbrook in the SICA North. Rowsha LeBranche added 12 and Delilah Strickland had 10. Romeoville (7-8, 1-3) received 16 points from Heather Olsen, 15 from Cassie Hill and 10 from Tiffany McCrackin.
Carmel 59, Grant 36: Caitlin Krombach scored 14 points and Megan Lick contributed 11 points as the Corsairs (11-5) romped.
Dundee-Crown 59, Crystal Lake South 22: The Chargers (8-6, 5-1) cruised in the Fox Valley behind Melissa Tarrant’s 15 points.
Geneva 36, Glenbard West 27: Caroline Byrnes scored nine points to lead the Vikings.
Glenbard South 67, Fenton 44: Tali Johnson scored 26 points and Jamie Nelson added 17 for the Raiders (7-7, 2-3) in the Suburban Prairie Red.
Hersey 52, Barrington 40: Ryan Redel’s 20 points led Hersey (7-7) in the Mid-Suburban crossover. Scott Schmitz scored 15 points to lead Barrington (9-5).
Hinsdale South 72, Leyden 31: Jill Randa scored 14 points, while Gina Rocco added 11 for the Hornets (12-4, 4-1) in the West Suburban Gold.
Herscher 57, Peotone 52: Aimee Jones scored 16 points for the Tigers (10-3, 5-0) in the River Valley. Alisyn Rathje had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Peotone (6-10, 3-4).
Huntley 57, Winnebago 36: Jason Kalsow scored 22 points and Pat Kalamatas contributed 12 points as Huntley (12-2, 1-0) won its Big Northern White opener.
Immaculate Heart of Mary 86, St. Scholastica 26: Erin Neiheisel finished with 19 points and Gina Hugelier added 17 points and 11 steals for IHM (15-2).
Johnsburg 46, Burlington Central 44: Sarah Lignioli’s two free throws gave the Skyhawks (11-4, 3-0) a Big Northern Red victory. Johnsburg rallied from a four-point deficit with a minute to play as Amy Morris hit a three-pointer and Dawn Miklionis made a free throw to tie the game at 44-44. Kristie Stanowski had 10 points for Johnsburg, while Morris finished with nine.
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Jenna Real’s 18 points led Burlington Central (5-9, 1-3).
Libertyville 41, Antioch 39: Liz Aldridge scored 10 points to lead the Wildcats to a North Suburban Lake victory.
Lockport 77, Joliet 63: Annie Stober had 13 of her game-high 19 points as the Porters (8-7, 2-2) rallied in the SICA West. Sara Zembrzuski added 16 points–all in the second half–for Lockport, which trailed 23-8 early in the second quarter.
“I liked the way they bounced back from the deficit and played the way they were capable of playing,” Lockport coach Matt Major said. “It was a big win on the road in the SICA West.”
Marian Catholic 69, Bishop McNamara 34: Kandyce Green’s 21 points paced Marian Catholic (10-4, 2-1) in the East Suburban Catholic. Stephanie Grubisic added 11 points for the winners.
Mt. Assisi 36, St. Benedict 26: Megan Pierucci had 16 points for the Eagles (4-14, 2-3) in the GCAC White.
Providence-St. Mel 40, Notre Dame 37: Cree Harris tallied 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Knights (9-7) held on.
Queen of Peace 54, Seton 51: Carrie Mockovak and Lauren Cassanto each scored 12 points as the Pride (6-11) edged Seton in the GCAC crossover. Simone Veal scored 22 points for Seton (7-8).
Resurrection 53, Luther North 35: Kira Fabrizio’s 18 points led the Bandits. .
Richards 35, Reavis 9: Angie Maglaris’ 11 points paced Richards (14-1, 4-0) in the SICA North.
Yorkville 50, Ridgewood 36: Alesia Perry scored 14 points for the Foxes (12-3, 6-1) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Boys
Downers Grove South 68, Bartlett 59: Brandon Dillard scored 19 points and Josh Panozzo had 13 points and 12 rebounds as the Trojans (7-4) held on in non-conference. Donte Frazier had 20 points for Bartlett (10-5).
Elk Grove 49, Fremd 33: Terry Evans had 15 points for the Grenadiers in non-conference.
Hersey 52, Barrington 40: Ryan Redel scored 19 points as the Huskies (7-7) won the Mid-Suburban crossover. Matt Spicer had 15 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
Lisle 58, Plano 36: The Lions (12-4, 5-1) romped in the Interstate Eight as Anjail Abdullah scored 15 points and Michelle Kittrell 14.
Palatine 48, Wheeling 37: Mack Trent’s 15 points led the Pirates (2-11) in the Mid-Suburban crossover.
Senn tournament: Lamar Grimes poured in 30 points and Issac Owens added 19 points and eight assists as Gage Park (11-3) rallied past Hope 71-66. Hope led 39-28 at halftime, but Gage Park went on a 21-8 run to get back into the game.