Glenbard South’s stifling ‘D’ powers win over Downers Grove North at Bill Neibch Holiday Classic semifinals

WHEATON – Glenbard South's stifling defense earned the Raiders a berth in Saturday’s Bill Neibch Holiday Classic championship game with a 30-21 semifinal win over Downers Grove North on Friday night.

The Raiders held the Trojans scoreless from early in the second quarter until the 2:03 mark of the third quarter and limited Campbell Thulin, Downers Grove North’s top scorer, to eight points.

Glenbard South (14-1) will face Waubonsie Valley (13-1), the defending tournament champion, in the title game at 7:30 p.m.. The Warriors beat Glenbrook South 76-67 in the second semifinal. The Trojans (11-4) and Titans (10-5) will square off in the third-place contest.

The Raiders have won the tournament twice, in 2017 and 2019.

The Trojans matched the Raiders’ defensive intensity. The semifinal contest was only the second time Glenbard South was held to less than 40 points.

“We knew that No. 5 (Thulin) is a great player,” Glenbard South coach Eric Daca said. “We focused on her and we committed before the game that we were going to do all that we could to limit the amount of times she touched the ball and the number of times she shot the ball. Rheayanna Ferguson, Kaitlin Erickson and Callie Hardtke rotated defending her and did a great job.”

The teams traded the lead throughout the first quarter with Downers Grove North taking a 7-5 lead with 1:03 left on an Abby Gross 3-pointer from the right wing.

Thulin opened the second quarter scoring with a layup to widen the lead to 9-5. The Raiders responded with nine straight points. A Brook Buenafe bucket at the 4:29 mark of the quarter tied the game. A buzzer-beating basket by Ferguson (9 points) put Glenbard South on top 14-9 at halftime.

The Raiders scored 10 straight points in the third quarter for a 24-9 lead with three minutes left in the period. The run started with back-to-back treys by Jamie Mizwicki (9 points) and Kate Bruhl and ended with a Brooklynn Moore (7 points) free throw.

“We played our game and executed really well,” said Moore, who also pulled down 11 rebounds.

Gross (7 points) finally broke the scoring drought with a free throw. The charity toss sparked a Trojans rally that continued into the fourth quarter. Thulin’s putback with 5:03 left to play cut Glenbard South’s lead to 24-17.

“Going against a team like Downers Grove North, you can never rest. We knew that they would be coming after us,” Daca said. “Before the game, we talked about how it was going to be a physical game, and it was a physical defensive battle for the entire thing. They came back at us in the third quarter and overall, we kept our poise.”

The Trojans were unable to pull any closer.

“I was pleased with how my team battled back, they didn’t give up,” Downers Grove North coach Stephan Bolt said.