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WEST CHICAGO – Glenbard West seniors Makenna Yeager and Julia Benjamin combined for 29 points and led the Hilltoppers to a 47-36 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South to claim their first regional championship since 2006 on Friday night.
The two standout seniors stepped up when it mattered most. However, the Tigers made life difficult, as the Hilltoppers trailed 21-14 with the game nearing halftime. They needed to earn every basket the hard way to begin chipping away at the early deficit.
“I just felt like my shot wasn’t working from the outside,” said Benjamin, who finished the night with 15 points. “So I had to find a way to get inside and really get those rebounds to get to the basket.”
Tigers junior Marley Carbonaro was a thorn in the side for Glenbard West all night long, and particularly in the first half, as she consistently hauled in rebounds on both ends of the court and used those opportunities to lead both teams in scoring with 16 points.
“When she’s feeling it, Marley can turn it on when she wants, and when she turns it on, she’s unstoppable,” said Tigers coach Kasey Gassensmith. “She’s great inside. She had a 3 tonight, which I think is her first 3 of the season. … The sky’s the limit for her.”
A turning point in the game seemed to take place with 3:00 left in the second quarter, as Carbonaro picked up her second foul and was subbed out of the game.
The Hilltoppers quickly took advantage as Benjamin went to work, slashing through the lane on multiple occasions and scoring on back-to-back trips down the floor as the Tigers missed Carbonaro’s length.
“[It was] really fun [to] get that roll going in the second quarter before halftime,” Benjamin said.
Her outburst shrunk the Tigers’ advantage to 21-20 moments before intermission.
“I think during halftime we just kind of needed to refocus ourselves, realize we need to work the ball a little bit more in the half court and not just chuck up some shots right away after one pass,” added Yeager.
“I think we just wanted to be steady and consistent and know that, you know things were gonna happen, as they do, but it’s how you respond to that,” said Hilltoppers coach Kristi Faulkner. “I was really proud of their mental toughness and staying in the game.”
Glenbard West sophomore Ellie Noble made what felt like the defining play of the evening early in the third quarter when she sprung into the air to block a shot and then sprinted the length of the court to catch a 70-foot heave from a teammate that she laid into the basket while being fouled, sending the gym into a frenzy.
“I just knew that I needed to get one for the team and at that point we were kind of getting in a rhythm,” said Noble, with a grin. “So I was like, ‘I gotta keep this going and I gotta bring the energy up.’ So I tried my best to get the steal, and once I got it, I was like, there’s no way I’m gonna miss this.”
That play gave the Hilltoppers their first two-possession lead of the evening and they never trailed again.
Noble finished the night with 11 points and several key defensive plays.
Glenbard West (21-12) will now look ahead to a Tuesday evening tilt with No. 1 seed St. Charles East at the Class 4A St. Charles East Sectional semifinals.
“We need to bring the same intensity that we brought in this game,” said Noble. “We need to piggyback off of it, the same energy, because we really brought it today and we need to continue that.”
As for the Tigers (16-16), their season ends on a sour note, but their coach could not be more proud of the effort they put forth.
“I just told our kids that I’m really proud of them, all 18 of them,” said Gassensmith. “Even more so the seniors that we had, all eight of them, they’re phenomenal leaders for us, they’ve made a true statement and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”