Waubonsie Valley’s Khaliah Reid can be ‘so annoying’ with her defense. Naperville North sees that again.

Waubonsie Valley point guard Khaliah Reid played the biggest game of her career as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

The nerves came afterward.

When teammate Lily Newton grabbed a rebound as time expired in the Class 4A Naperville North Regional championship game on Thursday and jumped into Reid’s arms, the emotions finally took over.

“Honestly, it was butterflies,” Reid said. “That’s what it was, just a lot of excitement. I looked over at Hannah (Laub), and it was just amazing. Everything just happened so fast. It was the best feeling ever.”

Reid, a 5-foot-5 senior who transferred from Metea Valley, scored just four points, but she was the linchpin of Waubonsie Valley’s 50-45 victory against Naperville North.

Reid had six rebounds, five assists and five steals for the sixth-seeded Warriors (23-7), who will play seventh-seeded Naperville Central (23-10) in the West Aurora Sectional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“She’s one of those players that is so annoying on defense, and I know from practicing against her,” Laub said. “She does the little things. Even if she’s not scoring, she’s always there for us. She’s just so quick, and I love having her on the team.”

Layla Henderson scored the game’s first basket for second-seeded Naperville North (20-12), but Laub answered with the first of her four 3-pointers to trigger a 10-0 run, and the Warriors didn’t trail again.

Taylor Curry finished with 15 points for the Warriors, Laub added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Newton had 11 points and seven boards.

The two teams had split a pair of regular-season games, with each side winning at home. But Waubonsie Valley, backed by a significant cheering section, quickly took away Naperville North’s home-court advantage.

“They always have a lot of energy, especially on their home court, so we knew that once we pulled ahead at the beginning, we’ve got to keep that,” Laub said. “Our fans have been awesome for us this year, so it always helps to have their support.”

Laub’s final 3-pointer gave the Warriors a 36-25 lead, their largest, at the 3:42 mark of the third quarter before McKendree-bound Abby Drendel scored 10 of her game-high 18 points to rally the Huskies.

“They were better tonight because they came out with a high intensity and energy, and they scored immediately,” said Drendel, who also had eight rebounds and three steals before fouling out with 56 seconds left. “We got into a hole, and we just didn’t come out with that energy and intensity that we needed to.”

Even so, the Huskies cut the gap to 45-42 and had a chance to get even closer. But Reid stole an inbounds pass from Naperville North’s Peyton Fenner and fed Curry, who made two free throws with 40 seconds left.

“I was acting like I was going left, and I just saw her eyes, and her shoulders moved that way,” Reid said. “I knew I would go get that ball and it would be a huge steal.

“I decided to use my skills and my court vision and just go take the ball.”

Fenner’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left made it 48-45, but Newton iced the game with two free throws.

Curry, Laub and Newton played on Waubonsie Valley’s regional championship team last season, but Reid hadn’t won a regional at Metea Valley.

“Winning the regional championship has always been a goal, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of this team,” Reid said. “I became part of a family with these girls.

“These are my sisters, and I’m just glad I got to experience it with them, especially it being my senior year. I knew this was the game where I wanted to compete, sacrifice my body, even if it took everything in me.”

Reid joined a program on the rise, but her impact cannot be underestimated.

“It’s huge,” Waubonsie Valley coach Brett Love said. “We lost nine seniors, and a lot of those seniors played, including a defensive player, Devin Lynch.

“(Reid) came in and took that position over and then added extra on the offensive end, being able to attack the basket and finish and make good passes.”

The game was the last in the high school careers of Drendel, Henderson, Fenner and Abby Homan, all of whom were four-year varsity players for the Huskies.

“These are my best friends,” Drendel said. “It meant a lot having one last season with all of them. It sucks that our season is over, but I know I’ll still have them after this.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.