Okoro leads Hinsdale South to win

Updated: March 23, 2011 2:02PM

Hinsdale South prefers running its offense through Uzo Okoro. It worked to perfection Monday night.

The 6-foot junior forward used her height advantage to lead the 11th-seeded Hornets to a 49-29 victory over 22nd-seeded Plainfield South in the Class 4A Naperville North Regional quarterfinals.

Okoro scored Hinsdale South's first five baskets in the game and scored 12 of the Hornets' 16 points in the first quarter. Her five rebounds in the opening quarter were more than Plainfield South's entire team (four).

"We scouted them earlier and knew they were short in the post," Okoro said. "My goal, our team goal, is to get a lot of plays inside. We hope it works a lot."

Okoro finished with a season-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Her previous season high was 19 points in a 63-38 victory over Leyden on Dec. 14. She made her first seven shot attempts in the game and did not miss a basket until the opening minute of the third quarter.

The Hornets (15-10), who have played only two previous games this month, will play sixth-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South (21-6) at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinals. The two teams have not met previously this season. The Tigers were co-champions of the DuPage Valley Conference with Naperville Central.

"It's always challenging playing two nights in a row," Hinsdale South coach Jen Belmonte said. "We've done it before, especially in tournaments. We play them all the time."

But the Hornets had two games canceled this month due to the blizzard. The last time Hinsdale South played back-to-back games was Jan. 14-15 with a pair of wins over Morton and Downers North.

Plainfield South (2-27) scored only one basket in each of the first and third quarters. The Cougars trailed 23-11 at halftime and 32-15 after three quarters.

"We had a lot of ups and downs," Plainfield coach Tor Erickson said. "Little things have been an issue. We've had sickness here or injuries there."

Sarah Keating led the Cougars with 10 points. Plainfield South's tallest player, 5-11 senior Jacquelyn Bachner, added nine points and eight rebounds while Leslie Hamilton had eight points and nine rebounds.

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