On Friday, Jan. 19, the Naperville North girls basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Neuqua Valley.
The Huskies (10-13 overall, 1-5 in the DVC) fell to the Wildcats (14-9 overall, 5-1 in the DVC) with a final score of 58-51.
The Huskies started off the game strong in the first quarter with baskets on offense while taking good care of the ball. Their explosive offense helped them jump out to a 14-11 lead over the Wildcats. The girls kept this momentum going throughout the second quarter with clutch shots by senior forward Kendall Johnson and sophomore guard Natalie Frempong. The Huskies stayed tough on defense, forcing a lot of turnovers which allowed them to go up 32-24 at halftime. Frempong comments on the team’s success in the first half.
“I was able to find my teammates open and they were consistently making their shots and were able to get in Neuqua’s head,” Frempong said.
In the second half, the Huskies traded buckets with the Wildcats the whole third quarter. Tough buckets by senior guard Ella Chapman and freshman forward Ava Podkasik allowed the Huskies to stay ahead of Neuqua 42-38 at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter started off with the Huskies maintaining their lead as they continued trading baskets. To rebuttal, the Wildcats started pressing the Huskies late in the fourth quarter. The girls had a hard time getting past Neuqua’s press defense which allowed them to get ahead. The Huskies tried to surge a comeback but unfortunately couldn’t pull it off and lost to Neuqua, 58-51. Head Coach Ally Miller explains how team energy and enthusiasm can affect the game.
“We knew that they were going to come out ready to go and we had to match that energy. I think we did that for the majority of the ballgame,” Miller said.
Tonight’s matchup was the third time that these two teams had met. Both teams had beaten each other coming into tonight. Neuqua beat the Huskies on Dec. 1 by 53-33 in the first matchup. North won the next meet on Dec. 28 by 72-66 in a holiday tournament. Johnson explains that the Huskies felt good coming into the night because of how much history the teams had this year.
“We definitely went into the game confident. With the mentality that with the people that we have, we can do it,” Johnson said.
The Huskies will play their next game at DeKalb on Monday, Jan. 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
