Girls Basketball: West Chicago sinks Naperville North

Updated: January 26, 2012 10:19PM

Allie Tapanes knew all she had to do was get open and Amanda Gosbeth would get her the ball.

That’s exactly what happened. Tapanes snuck behind the defense and Gosbeth fired an inbounds pass three-quarters of the way down the floor to Tapanes, who took it in for a layup to give West Chicago a four-point lead over Naperville North with 1:06 left Thursday night.

The host Wildcats then sank six free throws down the stretch to cement a come-from-behind 57-49 DuPage Valley Conference victory.

“Amanda has a good arm,” Tapanes said. “We knew she could throw it and we knew they were playing up on us and the back lane was wide open. So we went for it and we executed well.”

Gosbeth, a backup junior guard who scored one point to go with six rebounds, is better known for her skills as the catcher on the softball team, so her precision throw came as no surprise to West Chicago coach Kim Wallner.

“She’s got a rifle,” Wallner said. “She just clocked a girl [accidentally] in open gym and broke her nose. Softball is her sport, but she’s so athletic. I wanted her to loft it a little bit more, but it worked.”

The basket, which came 12 seconds after West Chicago’s Claire Monroe had broken a 47-47 tie by making two free throws, gave the Wildcats (13-9, 5-5) some relief from the pressure of a close game.

“It boosted our confidence completely,” said Tapanes, who had 10 points. “We had a little space to breathe finally.”

Naperville North (10-12, 2-8), which lost its sixth straight game, led 29-22 at halftime but got in foul trouble in the second half. The Wildcats took advantage, draining 18 of 22 free throws in the second half and 23 of 28 overall. Monroe, who led all scorers with 19 points, was 8-for-8 from the line, while Laura Panicali, who tallied 10 of her 16 points in the second half, made 4 of 5.

Zoe Swift led the Huskies with 18 points and nine rebounds and freshman Kayla Sharples had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

“I’m not a happy camper tonight,” said Naperville North coach Jacquie Discipio, whose team has yet to win in 2012. “We had a great first half. I think we had opportunities in the second half but they pushed a little. They found a will to win and that is what we have been lacking in January a lot.

“I think we had every opportunity but we were not able to put it away. I thought we were on our heels the entire second half.”

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