Girls Basketball: WW South too much for Wheaton North

Updated: January 17, 2012 9:48PM

A little breathing room was all No. 23 Wheaton Warrenville South needed Tuesday against crosstown rival Wheaton North.

A 14-2 run to start the second half allowed the Tigers to exhale.

Leading 23-19 at the break after North’s Jaquala Hillman banked in a 30-footer at the halftime buzzer, South broke the game open during the first four minutes of the third quarter and turned back the visitors 57-41.

Sophomore Meghan Waldron (14 rebounds) and Kasey Gassensmith each had 21 points for the Tigers, who improved to 17-2 and 6-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference.

“We were a little slow in the first half,” Gassensmith said. “Our defense was not what it usually is. We were going at their pace. We needed to go at our pace. The coaches said we were probably going 90 percent on offense and at 60 percent on defense and we needed to switch.

“We switched it up at halftime and really tuned it on,” she added.

A three-pointer by Sierra Bisso and a conventional three-point play by Waldron contributed to the run, which North briefly answered with a 7-2 spurt of its own. But the Tigers outscored the Falcons 9-3 to close out the quarter and take a 48-31 advantage into the final eight minutes.

“They know all our plays,” Gassensmith said. “You just have to keep moving the ball and you’ll be fine. I think everyone knows at least one person on that team. I’ve been playing them for four years. Every game is fun. Win or lose, it’s a good game and it’s never going to be an easy one.”

Wheaton North (9-11. 3-4) got 13 points from Hillman, 11 points and eight rebounds from Chrissy Baird and 10 points from Mandy Traversa. However, the Falcons sorely missed point guard Reilly Steward, who suffered a concussion Saturday at the McDonald’s Shootout.

“I thought our kids played well down our point guard,” Wheaton North coach David Eaton said. “When you have your point guard, it’s a completely different game. Maddie Baillie had to do some things that she normally doesn’t do and that took her out of our scoring. That makes a big difference.

“We get the ball to fall and we get our point guard, and it’s a completely different game,” the coach added. “We make a couple layups inside…my goodness…it’s right down there to the wire. Hopefully, the ball falls for us next time.”

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