By Drake Skleba
For the Bugle
In a special Friday matinee performance two of the four leaders in the West Suburban Silver met at Downers Grove North High School as Trojans welcomed York (13-6, 4-2), who were in a three-way tie atop the WSC Silver with Glenbard West (12-5, 4-1) and Oak Park-River Forest (9-9, 4-1).
The Trojans (12-6, 4-1) were one half game behind the WSC Silver tri-leaders.
After falling behind 10-6 after one quarter, North played Trojan-tough defense and over the next three quarters, the Dukes scored just 20 points, turned the ball over 21 times and fell to Downers Grove North, 36-30.
North’s 6-foot-2 senior Jaylin Harris, after a slow first quarter, led the way for the Trojans with eight points, six rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots.
“We all really stepped up and played great defense after another bad first quarter for us,” Harris said. “We all played with a lot of energy and this was a big win for us.”
With the Trojans leading 30-22 with 2:15 remaining regulation, York’s Sarah Krissinger met Harris up-close-and personal. Krissinger, leading a valiant York fourth-quarter, comeback drove on Harris to the basket.
Harris rejected Krissinger’s shot by taking the ball right out of the befuddled Duke forward’s hands.
Senior Julia Kramper, after burying a pair of three-pointers in the first three quarters, was huge in the fourth quarter for DGN.
Kramper who shared game-scoring honors, with York’s Krissinger with 12 points, hit six of eight clutch Trojan free-throws down the stretch.
“This was a very physical game,” Kramper said. “York is a great team and we had to step up and play great defense to win. I had been struggling lately with my outside shot and if felt good to knock the threes down.”
Trojan floor general, junior guard Ellie Gross, scored seven points to go with three rebounds and three steals in the game.
“I really didn’t play well today,” Gross said. “My shots weren’t falling and I am very grateful to my teammates for getting us this huge win. Jaylin and Julia were outstanding. This was a big WSC Silver win for us, this afternoon. We move one step closer to our goal of winning the WSC Silver championship.”
Saturday North will travel for a 6 p.m. nonconference game at Plainfield North (4-12).
“All season long we have struggled in the first quarter,” Downers Grove North coach Stephan Bolt said. “We were outstanding on defense today. To turn over a very good York team 21 times and hold them to just 20 points over the last three quarters is a credit to our girls.
“We ran our offense well but our shots just weren’t falling today. Credit goes to York playing very physical defense against us. Jaylen and Julia were outstanding. We knocked down our free throws and I am very proud of the girls for getting us this big win.”
FRIDAY AREA GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
SPC leading Indians handle, Corpuz and Wolves
Led by senior Savannah Johnson’s 22 points, Minooka (18-2, 5-0) held off Oswego East 55-48 in a Southwest Prairie contest in Minooka. The Indians’ senior standout Cierra Bachmann (13 points) sealed the victory by going six-for-six from the free-throw line in fourth quarter crunch time.
Oswego East (8-10, 2-4) grabbed a 15-12 lead after one quarter. Led by five Allison Bugajski (7 points), points, Minooka went to the halftime locker room with a 27-23 lead.
After scoring just a single point in the first half, Bachmann struck for six third quarter points as the Indians clung to a 41-39 lead after three quarters. Oswego East’s standout junior Christine Corpuz (16 points) exploded for seven third quarter points.
In the fourth quarter, Johnson took over the game scoring eight of her 22 points to extend the Indians lead. Bachmann finished off the Wolves with her fourth quarter free-throw shooting clinic.
Griffin, Wildcats hang on, to defeat Tigers 45-43
After her frustrating night at Naperville Central Thursday, Plainfield Central sophomore Anna Griffin put on quite a show before the home crowd at Plainfield Central. Griffin picked up another double-double, scoring 24 points and hauling down 10 rebounds to lead the ‘Cats past Plainfield North 45-43.
As on Thursday in Naperville, Plainfield Central (11-8, 3-1) had problems in the fourth quarter.
Thursday the Wildcats blew a 44-33 fourth quarter lead and lost to Naperville Central 51-49.
Friday, the Wildcats led 44-29 as the game entered the fourth quarter. North (4-13, 1-4) made a furious fourth quarter comeback but fell a little short.
Senior Katie Kearney, scored 11 points and dished out four assists, for Central. Junior Jasmine Bonsu cleaned the glass for Central, grabbing an even dozen rebounds on the night. Emily Knobbe added three big assists for the Wildcats.
The Tigers were led by freshman Jayln Patterson, who tallied 13 points.
Junior Natalie Bearbower added 12 points and senior Olivia Cantu grabbed 12 rebounds. Sophomore Beatrice Atienza had eight assists.
“She played her best game at point with great leadership and got the ball to the right people at the right time,” North coach Reggie Lemon said. “I’m very pleased with the effort we played with and the direction we’re going in.”