Trailing St. Ignatius by a point at halftime, Glenbard West didn’t do anything radically different in the second half.

But the results were a lot better.

The Hilltoppers ratcheted up the defensive intensity a bit, but mostly their shots started to fall. With that simple formula, the Hilltoppers pulled away for a 52-35 victory to win the inaugural Fox River Classic at Batavia High School.

Ellie Noble scored 19 of her game-high 22 points after intermission and added 10 rebounds for Glenbard West (15-1). Nina Hendricksen added 11 points and Mya Austin eight for Glenbard West.

“I thought we were getting good shots in the first half, so just keep taking those shots and eventually they’ll fall,” said West coach Kristi Faulkner. “In the second half, we got more of those shots to go down.”

The Hilltoppers also used defense to create opportunities on offense, either getting open shots or going to the free-throw line. Glenbard went 15-of-18 from the line in the second half.

“We talked about letting our defense dictate our offense,” said Faulkner. “We really wanted to emphasize getting defensive stops and then transition back to the offensive end.”

“No matter if shots were or weren’t falling, we had to stay together and defense would lead us through the game,” said Noble, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

A basket by Isabella Keberlein gave St. Ignatius a 20-19 halftime lead. But Austin opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer, starting a 12-2 run to put the Hilltoppers in control.

Noble made four straight free throws and, after a freebie by Lily Hubbuch, Noble capped the run with a 3-pointer.

The Wolfpack cut the lead to 35-29 on a 3-pointer by Gabrielle Hinton to open the fourth quarter, but Glenbard answered with a 9-2 run to all but end it.

Noble at one point made a basket while falling to the floor after being fouled. She missed the free throw, but Glenbard still led 48-32. Hendricksen’s free throws on the next possession gave the Hilltoppers their biggest lead of the night at 50-32.

Hinton and Kaylee Clarke scored 14 points apiece for the Wolfpack, but the rest of the team managed just seven.

That Glenbard defense forced 17 turnovers. The Hilltoppers also won the rebounding battle 30-23, also trailing in that category at halftime.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251227/girls-basketball/girls-basketball-glenbard-west-captures-first-fox-river-crown/