Lake Zurich Slips By Mundelein

With just over six seconds on the clock and the Bears down  46-45, Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett called a timeout. He knew his team had to make the final play work once they inbounded the ball.

There were two parts to the play that he diagrammed on the sidelines; the first part actually busted, but the second half worked well enough that junior guard Cathryne Spear broke free and sank an all-net basket with three seconds left on the clock to give Lake Zurich a 47-46 victory over Mundelein.

“One play makes up for all of the mistakes earlier in the game,” said Bennett. “That was designed to be a back screen, and I wanted Olivia (Dunigan of Mundelein) driving in on Kathryn. If necessary, we would have pitched it out and gone for three. Players make plays, not always the plays they’re supposed to, but it worked out in the end."

After the Mustangs jumped out to a 7-2 lead following a baseline jumper for three by Mundelein’s junior guard Amanda Davis, the Bears narrowed the lead to 7-6 after junior guard Massie Cox fed the ball to junior guard Dori Darras for an easy layup. Lake Zurich got to within a point, closing Mundelein’s lead to 9-8 after senior guard Karlissa Skarb nailed a basket from free throw range. Skarb led the Bears with 16 points.

Lake Zurich broke a tie closing out the first quarter with a 14-12 advantage after Spear made a layup following a feed by Darras.

The Bears added to their lead with two straight scores starting the second quarter, as junior forward Renee Wojcik went two-for-two from the line and junior guard Stephanie Schmid landed a bucket after both she and Wojcik missed layups under the net.

The Mustangs fought back and tied the score at 18-18 at a tick before the three minute mark in the second half when junior guard Taylor Davis hit a short post-up. The Bears extended their lead to 25-22 at the half when Skarb added to her point total with a bucket under the net.

Lake Zurich lost the lead quickly to open the third quarter when the Mustang’s junior guard Julie Rosenow scored looking up at the net and Davis downed an easy post-up after Darras missed two from the line. But by the end of the quarter, the Bears regained the lead on a wild play, when Spear grabbed a loose ball, drove and scored, giving Lake Zurich a 35-34 advantage.

The final quarter opened with the Mustang’s senior post Olivia Dunigan scoring under the net on her own offensive rebound. Later in the quarter, Skarb hit a baseline jumper just inside 3-point range, widening Lake Zurich’s lead to 41-38.

“What she does, she does very well,” remarked Bennett of Skarb’s play. “She had a really good game.”

After the Bear’s junior guard Katherine Anderson went two-for-two at the line following an attempted behind-the-back turnaround jumper that would have made Michael Jordan proud, the Bears led 43-40. But two straight field goals by the Mustangs, one a bucket by Davis from practically behind the hoop, gave Mundelein a 44-43 lead.

Skarb answered with a basket, allowing Lake Zurich to retake the lead, but Mundelein’s Davis responded with a basket under the net for a 46-45 Mustang advantage. That set up the final game-wining score by Spear.

“Not everything worked the way it was supposed to throughout the game,” said Bennett. “But in the end, things worked to our advantage.”

Taylor Davis led the Mustangs with 14 points.

Bears come out on top in 54-49 win over Panthers

Over the weekend, the Bears girls baketball team almost let one slip by against Round Lake, but persevered for a 54-49 win in overtime in a non-conference contest. For Round Lake, it was their best-played game of the season. Lake Zurich improved to 7-10 this season, while the Panthers fell to 3-10.

 “The kids just played their hearts out,” said Round Lake coach Howard Conkling. “They got their free throws in overtime and we didn’t.”

In defeat, the Panthers got 26 points from star Chelsea Brown, 10 points from seniro Sam Danguilan and nine from Krystal Pitts.

Next up: Maine West in Des Plaines tomorrow night at 7 p.m., and an away game versus Libertyville at 7:30 p.m.,  Saturday, Jan. 15.