Two four minute stretches were the difference Tuesday night in a first round open division girls basketball matchup between two schools north of Loop 101.

In the first four minutes of the game, the O'Connor Eagles rolled out a balanced attack with each of their five starters scoring. The home team jumped on Sunrise Mountain with a 14-3 start on their way to a 54-46 victory to advance to the Sweet 16. 

With the victory, the #10 O'Connor (17-8) advances to face a familiar foe, the #7 Phoenix Xavier Prep Gators (19-8) at 7 p.m. Thursday evening at 4710 N. 5th St.

“I think we look like a completely different team from the first time when we played (Xavier) the first game of the season to open up,” said Eagles head coach Charles Wilson.

A big key to the Eagles fast start was a personnel decision by the Mustangs. Sophomore Omoye-Ojavan Aguebor got the start in favor of junior Addison Wiemann who typically starts in the post, with the idea of giving #23 Sunrise Mountain (22-5) a more athletic front court.

Immediately after Wiemann checked in at the four minute mark, the Mustangs went on a 14-2 run to take the with 6:47 left in the first half. 

“I was honestly shocked she wasn’t starting from the beginning, but we just made some adjustments. Kamara Moss came in and gave us some good minutes and our freshman Mia Davis came in with her length and bothered her and was physical with her a little bit,” said Wilson. 

The second quarter had the feel of a 1-on-1 pickup game as junior wing Audrey Bhesania for O’Connor and senior Savanna Dotray of the Mustangs traded baskets. Bhesania got the last laugh on a buzzer beater to give the Eagles a 28-27 halftime lead.

“Audrey, she's it. I mean, you can scout it or do whatever you want, you just gotta stop it,  she's definitely a dawg and we're gonna run through her, she’s our bell cow,” said Wilson. 

At the half Dotray had nine points, six rebounds, and four steals and was the best player on the court for either team, leading to a change defensively for the Eagles at halftime.

“Ava Schooler did an amazing job in the second half. 
I talked to her and I got on her about her defensive assignment, and I sat her for a little bit, and she responded extremely well,” said Wilson 

In the second half, Schooler held Dotray to four points as the Mustangs offense stagnated without her ability to knock down baskets.

“That's what we wanna see. Ava’s still a young pup and I keep forgetting that, but we gotta hold her accountable to get better, she wants to be a division one player and we want to help her get there,” Wilson said.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle for both teams. Only four baskets and a few free throws went in. It was tied 34-34 entering the final quarter.

From there, O’Connor would show their 6A championship pedigree against last year's 5A runner up. 

Quickly, Bhesania, now the secondary ball handler in the final frame, knocked down two baskets as the Eagles pulled ahead 38-37 with five minutes to go.

“In that time of the game we're going to run through her and let her do her thing. she is a division one player, we want her to act like it every time she's on the floor and in how she plays,” said Wilson. 

From there, the Eagles went on another 11-2 run to close out an attempt by the Mustangs. With the defensive pressure focused on Bhesania, O’Connor went to senior Savannah Helms to ice the victory. 

“Savannah came in and made plays when she needed to, that's what we wanted her to do as a senior, with experience to come up with the ball and and close as a primary ball handler,” Wilson said. 

With the victory, the Eagles improved to 3-0 all time versus Sunrise Mountain, a rare matchup despite the two schools being only 15 minutes and six miles apart. These teams had not happened in four years prior to Tuesday’s game. 

If O’Connor can upset Xavier Prep, the program will advance to the Elite 8 of the open division for the first time. A tall task awaits them as the Gators are led by 6-foot-5-inch junior Noelle Guiamatsia, a five-star prospect for colleges. 

“We’ll be working on boxing out all day tomorrow. all day from the beginning of practice we'll be working on keeping them out of the paint and getting ready for what’s ahead,” said Wilson.