Sara Abdul’s 23 points lead Wheaton North girls past Plainfield North

PLAINFIELD — On a few occasions Thursday, Plainfield North‘s girls basketball team was able to close the gap between itself and Wheaton North to four or five points, and even once got to within two in the fourth quarter.

Seemingly each time the Tigers got close, though, Wheaton North’s Sara Abdul had the answer for the Falcons.

Abdul finished with a game-high 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to help Wheaton North keep Plainfield North at bay and come away with a 67-61 nonconference win in the regular season closer for both teams.

And, when Abdul wasn’t busy scoring to build the lead back up, she was able to dribble through the Tiger defense to run time off the clock.

“I like having the ball in my hands in those situations,” Abdul said. “I feel like I can dribble and stay away from the other team. Sometimes I try to do too much, but I didn’t tonight.

“This should give us a confidence boost heading into the playoffs. We were upset Tuesday night [a loss to Lake Park], but we were able to bounce back from it.”

The Falcons (17-14) never trailed, and the game’s only tie was at 2-2. After that, Abdul made back-to-back 3-pointers for an 8-2 lead and Wheaton North was well on its way.

Brigitte Noyes, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, made 7 of 8 free throws in the first quarter, while teammate Adeline Sutton came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers to help the Falcons claim a 19-12 lead heading into the second quarter.

Wheaton North started the second quarter with a steal and layup by Abdul and an old-fashioned three-point play by Noyes to move out to a 24-12 lead.

Plainfield North (19-10) was able to close to within 30-25 after back-to-back 3-pointers by Sydney Scott (12 points) and Taylor Henderson (team-high 14 points), but Wheaton North answered with a basket by Leah Roe and a 3-pointer by Sutton to extend the lead back to 10 at 35-25.

Plainfield North’s Kaitlyn Sedillo and Wheaton North’s Sophia Johnson traded 3-pointers before halftime, sending the Falcons into intermission with a 38-28 lead.

“It was nice to get a win on the road against a good team,” Wheaton North coach Tyler Bantz said. “Both teams played physical and it turned into kind of a shootout.

“We did a good job on the boards tonight. That has been something we have struggled with a little bit at times this year, but we were able to limit them to one shot on a lot of possessions and didn’t give up many offensive rebounds for easy putback baskets.”

Wheaton North moved out to a 47-34 lead midway through the third quarter, but Plainfield North went on an 8-0 run behind six points, including a 3-pointer, by Isabella Garcia and a basket by Henderson to close to within 47-42. The teams traded points before the end of the quarter and Wheaton North led 51-46 entering the fourth.

“We had too many turnovers in the first half and dug too big a hole,” Plainfield North coach Brittany McWaine said. “We battled hard and got it close a couple of times, but we couldn’t get over that hump. Between our turnovers, their rebounds and their 3-point shooting in the first half, we got behind by too much.

“It didn’t look pretty, but we responded when we got behind by double digits. I liked to see the fight from our girls. Wheaton North is a good, physical team, and that’s the kind of game we are going to play in the postseason.”

Plainfield North found the range from 3-point land early in the fourth as Henderson and Isabella Koldoff each hit a triple, with Koldoff’s closing the score to 57-55.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was as close as they got as Abdul scored and teammate Anna Leicht followed with a basket for a 61-55 lead. In the final minute, Sedillo (11 points) hit a 3-pointer to pull Plainfield North to within 66-61, but Roe capped the scoring with a free throw and the Falcons' defense kept Plainfield North from scoring.

“At halftime, we were up 10,” Bantz said. “I told the girls that they were going to make a run at us, and they did. But our girls had the response to it every time.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/2025/02/14/sara-abduls-23-points-lead-wheaton-north-girls-past-plainfield-north/