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Girls Basketball: Emma Donahue’s post play keys Naperville Central win
Updated: May 9, 2012 10:13AM
Center Emma Donahue was too much to handle Saturday afternoon as Naperville Central extended its winning steak to eight games by edging rival Naperville North 46-43 Saturday night.
The 6-foot-3 senior led the Redhawks with 21 points and was an aggressive presence in the paint on defense. The Redhawks (18-8, 12-1 DuPage Valley) registered seven blocked shots.
“They didn’t have an answer for her. I wanted her to get 40,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. “There were times we didn’t give her the ball [when] I thought we should have, and there were times she got the ball, and I wanted her to shoot and she didn’t.
“But 21 is pretty dang good.”
Both teams got off to a sluggish start. North (12-13, 4-9) led 6-5 after the first quarter, and the teams entered halftime tied 14-14.
Naperville North guard Shannon Bushman’s three-pointer gave the Huskies a 20-18 lead early in the third quarter.
Guard Jill D’Amico and forward Jamie Cuny drilled three-pointers that sparked a 10-0 run for a dominant 28-20 Central lead the Redhawks never relinquished. “We did the things we needed to do to win. But I’m not all too sure that we handled our emotions very well in general. It was out of sorts a little bit,” Nussbaum said.
“Certainly, we’re a better team than what we played today. But you know what, at this point of the season, a win is a win, so let’s move on.”
Bushman and Kayla Sharples scored 14 points apiece in leading the Huskies.
Naperville Central enters its final regular season game at West Chicago on Thursday tied for first place in the DuPage Valley Conference.
“We’re 12-1 and the 12th win wasn’t very pretty. We’re one game away from where we wanted to be at the end of the season,” Nussbaum said.
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