Natalie Frempong, Naperville North hold off Oswego East’s huge comeback in regional opener

LISLE – Natalie Frempong had ample opportunity to question whether Monday was her night.

Naperville North’s junior guard missed her first six shots of the game. Then Frempong missed her first eight attempts of the second half.

On more than one occasion, she seemed frustrated that fouls weren’t called on shots. She even airballed a couple long tries.

But stop shooting?

That thought never for a moment entered the mind of Frempong, and never will.

“Always keep shooting, always – no matter what," Frempong said. “Whether it’s an airball on the last possession, just keep shooting. The shots will go in eventually.”

The Huskies needed that aggressive attitude from their star.

Frempong scored 13 of her game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter and added two key assists late. Naperville North built a 21-point third-quarter lead and held off a furious Oswego East rally for a 67-62 win in the Class 4A Benet Regional semifinal.

Naperville North (17-14), which advanced to face top-seeded Benet in Thursday’s regional final, never trailed, led 33-20 at halftime and started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to open up its biggest lead.

Then watched as Oswego East (17-11) roared back with a 15-0 run to get to within 45-39 a minute into the fourth quarter.

“That’s basketball for you,” Frempong said. “Lots of teams have runs. We got a little stagnant with the lead. I feel like we came together at the end.”

Anna Richards added 20 points and hit six 3-pointers for Naperville North. Desiree Merritt scored 21 points, Maggie Lewandowski 20 and Aubrey Lamberti 11 for Oswego East.

Lewandowski, a senior guard and four-year varsity player, scored 12 of her 20 in the fourth quarter to will the Wolves back.

Her basket with 2:57 left closed Oswego East within 56-50, but after a Naperville North score Lewandowski had a potential chance at a three-point play waved off on a charge call.

“She wanted it. When she got called for the charge that was a big one,” Oswego East coach Abe Carretto said. “Could have gone either way but she kept fighting, kept clawing back. We were scrambling a little bit but we kept fighting.”

Frempong’s two free throws finally put an end to Oswego East’s run.

She shot just 9 of 31 for the game, but Naperville North coach Aly Miller will gladly ride it out with her junior guard.

And Frempong rewarded that faith. Frempong either scored or assisted on all but one Huskies' basket in the fourth quarter, made her last four shots and made five free throws to preserve the tenuous lead.

“They were throwing two defenders at her,” Miller said. “She did a great job of putting the team on her back and leading us to victory. Proud of her. She is super active on the defensive end too.”

Naperville North limited Oswego East to just one basket over the first six minutes for a 13-2 lead. While Frempong struggled to find the range, the Huskies had eight offensive rebounds in the game’s first three minutes, freshman Sydney Smith four of them with two baskets.

“We’re a team that prides ourselves on the defensive end, hands in the passing lanes, super active, got a lot of deflections and turnovers into points,” Miller said. “We were monsters on the boards.”

Indeed, Naperville North’s pressure defense had Oswego East out of sorts throughout the first half. The Wolves had three layups in the half’s final minute roll out, and Richards' 3-pointer as time expired made it 33-20 at halftime.

But the Wolves, a team capable of wild swings of momentum, showed it again Monday, with Merritt’s two baskets starting the 15-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters.

Even after Lewandowski fouled out, Merritt hit a 3-pointer to close Oswego East within five in the final minute.

“If we would have kept their lead under eight or 12 I think we come out on top. Twenty-one points, that’s tough,” Carretto said. “Even down five we had an opportunity at a steal and a putback. Just didn’t work out.”

Benet beat Plainfield East 70-22 in Monday’s first semifinal. Lindsay Harzich paced Benet with 12 points.