Ahr’s 3s help Thunder rally past Blue Streaks

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WOODSTOCK – Sami Ahr caught fire at exactly the right time for Woodstock North.

Plagued by foul trouble and held scoreless in the first three quarters, the junior ignited the Thunder’s comeback in the fourth quarter Wednesday.

Ahr hit two important three-pointers and finished with 10 of the Thunder’s 25 points in the quarter, as visiting Woodstock North beat rival Woodstock for the second time this season, 50-41, in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division girls basketball game.

Ahr’s first three came with 3:17 remaining in the fourth to give the Thunder (14-10 overall, 5-5 FVC Fox) a 35-32 advantage, their first lead in more than 19 minutes. Her second came with 1:28 left in the game to give the Thunder a 40-38 lead they would never relinquish.

“We were down and I needed to take open shots, smart shots,” Ahr said. “I had to stick with the team game and give us a little bump because the whole game was kind of slow rolling. It was good to come back.”

A scrappy Woodstock (5-16, 0-9) team gave the Thunder all they could handle early. The first quarter ended in a tie and Woodstock held a 25-20 lead at halftime. The Blue Streaks led by as many as six in the third quarter.

Six-foot-one sophomore Cody Brand was a force inside for the Streaks and finished with 10 blocks.

“There’s a huge rivalry going on between these teams, and the crowds are really intense,” Brand said. “We just turned over the ball too much and were rushing too fast and should have slowed the game down.”

Another huge fourth quarter performer for Woodstock North was sophomore Samantha Abbate, who had six points in a quarter that saw the Thunder double their point total from the previous three.

“We were looking to get on a run,” Abbate said. “There’s a lot of pressure in these games. It’s really loud but a lot of fun.”

Since Woodstock North’s opening, neither girls basketball team had won each rivalry game in the same year. Until now.

“When we play Woodstock, we know it’s going to be an all-out brawl,” Thunder head coach Mike Lewis said. “We knew what to expect. We were the first ones to the loose balls in the fourth quarter and we were being the aggressors, but we knew we’d get their best game.”

Junior Emma Everly led the Thunder with 11 points, and junior Samantha Ludwig had a game-high 14 for the Blue Streaks.

“I coached maybe a half a dozen to a dozen of the girls on their team when they were little,” Woodstock coach Marty Hammond said. “I don’t like beating them, and I don’t like losing to them, and I’m sure they’re the same way.”