Game breakdown
SCORE BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4
Glenbard W. 9 8 7 15
Downers N. 4 12 4 12
LEADING SCORERS
GW Nicole Hazemi 14; Abbey White 9; Abbie Hastings 9; Kara Stack 2; Abby McBride 2; Kaitlin Aubrey 2; Molly McBride 1
DN Missy Blazej 13; Shannon Kleczka 8; Amelia Echemann 6; Nicole Sebo 3; Kristi Koszewski 2
HIGHLIGHT The Hilltoppers were just 4 of 9 from the free throw line in the first three quarters, but they hit 8 of 13 in the final 1:13 of the game to pull out the conference win over the Trojans.
At the very least Glenbard West’s and Downers Grove North’s girls basketball teams were very familiar with each other.
Prior to Saturday’s West Suburban Silver showdown in Glen Ellyn, the Hilltoppers and Trojans had met twice, splitting the pair of games.
With a strong stretch run the Hilltoppers won Saturday’s game 39-32.
“Downers always plays us tough,” Glenbard West head coach Mike Hofland said. “We new it was going to be tough before the game. We needed a total team effort.”
The Hilltoppers (11-11 overall, 5-1 WSS) got that, especially in the final five minutes. Five different players entered the scoring column during that stretch as West erased the Trojans’ (9-12, 4-5) 26-24 lead with a 10-0 run.
Sophomore Nicole Hazemi was especially instrumental. She scored five of her game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter, all from the free throw line.
“I’ve been working on that a lot in practice,” Hazemi said of her free throw shooting. In addition to her prowess at the stripe, Hazemi added nine rebounds, a block and a steal to her stat line.
While free throws saved the day, she wasn’t the only one who put the Hilltoppers back on top.
Abbie Hastings made the basket that pulled the hosts level at 26-26 midway through the fourth quarter, and Abbey White had back-to-back buckets to extend the lead to 31-26. Molly McBride and Kara Stack had successful trips to the free throw line to help inflate West’s cushion.
“We lost the last couple and we lost to them last time, so we wanted to come back and beat them,” Hazemi said. “I think we’re playing better together now.”
In the early going West built an 11-4 lead, one that seemed insurmountable as the Trojans struggled to find their offensive footing. North shot a pitiful 2 of 9 from the field, with Missy Blazej accounting for all four first quarter points.
“We missed a lot of open shots,” Downers head coach Darrin Travillian said. “We were a little out of sync and they had a lot to do with it.”
The Trojans overcame that poor showing thanks to the strong play of two reserves.
Amelia Echemann scored all six of her points in the second to help the Trojans chip away at the deficit, and Shannon Kleczka hit a 3-pointer that put them ahead late in the frame, and they trailed just 17-16 at intermission.
The teams exchanged the lead or were tied 10 times in the second half before the Hilltoppers pulled away.
“I think we had only two or three turnovers in the second half,” Hofland said. “We did a better job handling their pressure.”
“It was different tonight (from last time),” Travillian said. “They handled our zone and hit some key shots when they needed them.”
