Folan's free throws sink Hinsdale Central

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:54PM

Becca Folan had never hit a game-winning shot before. She had never been in a position to hit one.

And until 32.9 seconds remained in the game Tuesday night, she had not attempted a shot or a free throw.

But that didn't stop the 5-11 junior forward from calmly sinking both ends of a 1-and-1 situation to give Glenbard West a 51-50 victory over host Hinsdale Central in a West Suburban Conference Silver Division opener.

"I was really nervous," Folan said. "I just tried not to think about it. I heard my teammates. They helped encourage me and that's all I thought about."

Hinsdale Central (0-5, 0-1) had two chances to win the game, but Christine Rush missed a jumper with 12 seconds left and, following a Glenbard turnover, Avery Anderson's shot from the right baseline rimmed out with :02 to go and was rebounded by Hilltoppers guard Bridget Flanagan.

"Becca's been hot and cold for us," Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said. "She's started a couple games for us. I think she's our leading rebounder and our leading free-throw shooter."

Flanagan, a 5-8 senior guard, is West's leading scorer. She poured in 12 of her career-high 18 points in the second half to twice rally the Hilltoppers (3-3, 1-0) from a seven-point deficit. The Red Devils led 43-36 in the fourth quarter before Flanagan set up Cayla Herbst's inside bucket, then scored on a drive and assisted Herbst on a layup.

Hinsdale bumped the lead back up to seven, 49-42, following two free throws by Anderson at the 1:48 mark. After Flanagan fed Claire Riley for a jumper, Anderson split two free throws with 50 seconds left, but West scored the final seven points as Herbst sank two free throws and Lauren Davis drained a three-pointer before a Hinsdale turnover set up Folan's clutch foul shots.

"We knew what we had to do," Flanagan said. "Definitely what we focus on and what we get our offense from is our defensive intensity and being able to trust each other when we're on the floor. I think it was a team effort."

Flanagan also had five rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Hilltoppers, who according to Hofland have underachieved so far.

"[Flanagan] is very athletic," Hofland said. "Maybe we're going to have to look to turn her loose more.

"[The Hilltoppers] fought back, which I'm proud of, but I don't have an answer for this team right now. We have a lot of talent; we're just not coming together. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's nice to come out with a win."

Herbst finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Sami Keirnan had six points and four boards off the bench.

Sophomore center Lily Sarros had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead Hinsdale Central, which is without its top player, senior guard Maggie Brennan, who is out for at least two weeks with a broken finger on her shooting hand. Anderson and Rush both scored nine for the Red Devils, while Mary Byrne added six points and eight rebounds.

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