Less than two weeks remain in the DVC girls basketball season as Naperville North welcomes Metea Valley into the Huskie gym. North looks to build on a recent streak of strong play while the Mustangs look for their first DVC win of the season. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Naperville North blitzes the Mustangs from the start
Naperville North comes out of the gate strong as junior shooting guard, Ava Podkasik, lays in a couple of points to kick this game off and put the Huskies up on the board.
Keeping the energy up early in this game, Podkasik tosses the ball over to sophomore forward Katie Walker, who drains the three.
Metea Valley looks to join the game and put itself on the board as freshman Zara Johnson secures control of the ball and successfully goes in for the layup.
However, Naperville North continues to dominate the court and keep its impressive lead at the top of the game with Zoey Bishop spinning off her backfoot, draining a bucket from inside the arc, and beating the buzzer to end quarter one. The Huskies run out to a 20-point lead.
Sydney Smith continues the momentum from quarter one in the second quarter, starting with a shot from downtown off a nice assist from Ema Gilvydas, followed by a layup, successfully securing five more points for Naperville North.
Smith passes the ball over to freshman Savannah Shufelt, who goes in for a successful lay-up with the Huskies continuing to roll.
The blue and orange keep the train moving along as Lila Zitko gets control of the ball and drains a 3-pointer from beyond the arc.
Metea looks to show they’re still in the fight as Arabella Bucher gets the offensive rebound and puts in the layup for a pair.
Metea ends the second quarter still swinging as Brianna Seely connects with a shot from downtown. The Mustangs with a couple of buckets to end the half, but they still trail by a sizeable margin.
The Mustangs come roaring back in the second half
A switch seems to flip in the Mustangs coming into the second half, with back-to-back points for Metea Valley, starting with Haylie Wisch as she sinks a triple from beyond the arc.
Jailyn Cutts looks to continue this comeback attempt as she gains control of the ball and lays in yet another two points for Metea Valley, and the action doesn’t stop there.
Cutts passes the ball from half court to Wisch, who comes back for seconds and drains another three for the black and gold.
Bucher passes the ball over to junior Katie Hickerson for another successful shot from distance as the Mustangs cut the lead to under 20.
Podkasik helps the Huskies regain control
Naperville North looks to regain control as Ava Podkasik lays in a quick basket at the tail end of the third to change the momentum.
Naperville North looks to keep its lead in the fourth and final quarter. Zoey Bishop looks to be going in for a layup, but quickly passes the ball over to Savannah Shufelt, who lays it in for another Huskie basket.
Bishop with yet another assist as she whips a one-handed pass to Lila Zitko, who drains a three from beyond the arc as the Huskies regain control of the game
Metea is not ready to throw in the towel. Brianna Seely hits another three to keep hope alive.
Late in the fourth, Haylie Wisch goes for the layup but misses. The rebound is picked up by Lauren Penich, who successfully gets the putback to go for the Mustangs.
The Huskies put the game away with an offensive rebound of their own. Shufelt continues her strong night with another layup as time winds down.
Naperville North brings it home and walks away with a final score of 63-42 over Metea Valley. The Huskies improve their record to 19-7 on the season.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
