Glenbard West junior forward Sophia Evans has a nose for the ball.

When she gets it, the Hilltoppers can sniff victory.

“With Sophia, any time she’s in the game, she’s going all-out 100 percent, diving on the floor, rebounding,” Glenbard West coach Kristi Faulkner said. “She plays really hard and she’s a really good athlete, so we love watching her play and she brings great energy to the team.”

The 5-foot-9 Evans came off the bench in the first quarter and provided a big spark during Thursday night’s West Suburban Conference Silver Division showdown with visiting Downers Grove North.

Evans scored four of her 13 points in the first quarter and provided tough defense during an opening 18-2 run that stretched into the second quarter. The Hilltoppers never looked back and defeated the Trojans 60-47.

“We’ve been preparing for this,” Evans said. “We know it’s all about defensive stops and slowing them down.

“Defense is what wins these games. I think we just came out and did it together.”

The game was tied at 2-2 when Glenbard West’s Nina Hendricksen drained a 3-pointer, then made a steal and layup to trigger a 16-0 run. Evans followed with a driving layup off a feed from junior forward Ellie Noble and later scored inside again to make it 16-2.

Evans actually did more offensive damage in the second half, when she went 3-for-3 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. But it was her tenacious defense that helped the Hilltoppers (7-0, 2-0) hold the Trojans (6-1, 1-1) without a basket until junior guard Campbell Thulin scored on a layup with 6:47 left in the second quarter.

By then, the Trojans had missed their first eight shots and turned the ball over seven times.

“It was our home court and we wanted to take advantage of being here and having fun and focusing those first few minutes of the game,” Faulkner said. “I think defensively we came out pretty strong, controlling what we could control and I thought we brought good energy, especially on the defensive end.”

Evans finished with seven rebounds, one block and a steal at halfcourt which she converted into a contested layup to boost Glenbard West’s lead to 42-27 at the 2:05 mark of the third quarter.

Downers North senior forward Adysen Fanta answered with a 3-pointer, but it didn’t do much to slow the Hilltoppers. Evans converted a three-point play off a feed from Noble to make it 47-29.

“If we’re not making shots, it’s like, whatever, but we just really have to do the little things, and I think that’s what got us,” said Fanta, who has committed to Northern Michigan. “They had some players on their team that don’t even score sometimes, but they just take care of the ball and rebound very well and it’s hard to play against them when they’ve got the little things down. But we stuck together and that’s the thing that matters.”

Indeed, the Trojans were competitive over the last three quarters, when they outscored the Hilltoppers 45-43. Thulin tallied 14 of her 16 points in the second half and added six assists and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Caitlin Sandridge added 10 of her 14 points after the break.

But the Hilltoppers shot 26-for-44. Noble led the balanced attack with 16 points and eight rebounds. Hendricksen and Katie Meehan had eight points each, while Mya Austin added seven points, five rebounds and two assists and Lily Pones had six points.

Fanta gave props to Evans.

“She doesn’t even score and we thought she was one of the best players, if not the best player,” Fanta said. “She makes them a good team.”

Even when her scoring goes unnoticed.

“See, you don’t even know that,” Fanta said when she found out Evans had 13 points. “She’s like silent.”

Perhaps that was because Evans was not in the starting lineup.

“This is my first time that I didn’t start this season, so we’ll see how it goes from here,” Evans said. “I definitely want to start, but I’m OK with wherever I play.”

Especially when the Hilltoppers are winning.

“It feels great,” Evans said. “Hopefully it keeps going. It will take a lot of hard work.”