The Sports Kat

Spring Sports Have Sprung

Lake Zurich High School's baseball, lacrosse and soccer seasons are warming up with the weather

Spring is here, which means that baseball, lacrosse and soccer are flourishing at various community, park and recreation department and school fields throughout Lake Zurich and the surrounding Ela Township environs. Lacrosse in particular is gaining traction as an increasingly popular youth sport, similar to where soccer was 15-to-20 years ago. The Lake Zurich High School Boys Lacrosse Team is a steadily improving squad. Currently at the B level in the North Suburban Conference, they’re starting to look like they’ll be able to bring it against some of the upper-tier A level teams. “We’re pretty talented this year,” first-year coach Kyle Dresser said. “We’re fast and athletic and we have a number of guys who can shoot the ball.” The Bears …

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Fundraising Banners Approved at Two Ball Parks

Organization currently seeking sponsors to advertise at Richard E. Staples and Lions parks from May 1 through Oct. 31.

The Lake Zurich Baseball and Softball Association (LZBSA) recently got the go-ahead from the Lake Zurich Village Board to display temporary banners at two ball parks to support fundraising efforts for field improvements and maintenance. Trustees voted to give the association relief from the village sign ordinance that normally allows a maximum of two signs per property.  LZBSA plans to display as many as six banners in each of the seven fields located at Richard E. Staples and Lions parks.  Interested businesses can advertise on the three-by-eight banners for $650. Money raised will go toward capital improvements for all 13 fields used by the organization. “We use the village’s ballparks, but we maintain everything from replacing fences, …

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Lake Zurich Girls Wrap Up Basketball Season

Bears defeat Lake Forest easily, but lose by 10 to Zion-Benton.

In their IHSA regional quarterfinal game on Tuesday, The Lake Zurich Bears girls basketball team handily defeated Lake Forest, 52-24. Building a 19-2 lead, the Bears continued to roll over the Scouts throughout the entire game. The Bears led 14-2 after the first quarter; 27-11 at halftime and 38-14 after three quarters. It was the first time in four weeks that junior Dori Darras and senior Karlissa Skarb, two of the team’s better players, were in the lineup at the same time. Darras missed over a month with a broken bone in her right hand, and Skarb has been recovering from a muscle pull in her chest. “We missed Dori’s leadership and basketball knowledge and Karlissa’s aggressiveness,” said Bears’ coach Chris Bennett. “I am proud of our …

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Stevenson's Patriot Act Too Much for Bears' Girls in 60-37 Loss

Stevenson's 17-2 run going into halftime is the game's biggest difference-maker.

In the Lake Zurich girl’s team’s final regular season game Friday night, Stevenson routed the Bears 60-37 in a game that was originally scheduled to be played last week but was postponed due to the mighty blizzard of ’11. The game started poorly for the Bears, who were outscored 10-0 by the Patriots. Lake Zurich came back with six consecutive points to narrow Stevenson’s lead to 10-6. The Patriots answered the Bears’ spurt with seven straight points, boosting their lead to 17-6. Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett realized that he had to make an adjustment, and switched over to a press defense. This resulted in several easy steals for the Bears, and they climbed back into the game, down by two at 19-17. Unfortunately, Stevenson coach Tom …

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Bears' Girls Bullied By Bulldogs

Lake Zurich keeps it close until the fourth quarter, when they're outscored 17-2

Outscored 25-11 in the second half, the Bears girls basetball team once again played competitively in the first half of a 44-29 loss to Grant Tuesday night. In fact, even the third quarter went fine, as the Bears were at that point tied at 27-27. But in the fourth quarter, they were outscored 17-2. “Let me think of something clever to say,” smiled Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett, who has talked repeatedly this season about the need to play solid basketball for four quarters. “They changed zones and we needed to make adjustments on defense,” said Bennett, referring to the Bulldog’s switch-outs that the Bears weren’t able to overcome. Karlissa Skarb was back in the starting lineup, and scored the Bear’s first points on a 3-point baseline …

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Bears Buzzed By Zee-Bees, 59-44

Zion-Benton girls overwhelm Lake Zurich in second half.

Too bad for the Lake Zurich girls’ basketball team that there are four quarters to a game. The team did fine in the first half in their 59-44 loss to Zion-Benton (19-5) Saturday night, repeatedly battling back from deficits late in the first quarter and early in the second before taking a small lead at halftime. “That’s been the story all year with our team,” said coach Chris Bennett. “If we played consistently for all four quarters, there’s no telling what we might do.” The Zee-Bees jumped out to a 6-0 lead, as shooting powerhouse Morgan Garrett scored the first four points of the game, the first on a layup and then a tip-in off the board. Another basket was added by freshman Samantha Rodriguez, who is also a scoring machine for Zion. …

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Lake Zurich Girls Split in Sweet Sixteen

Bears defeat Hinsdale Central in a morning game before losing to Providence Catholic in the nightcap.

In the Maine West Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament hosted by Lake Zurich High School on Saturday, the Bears girls basketball team split their two games, winning the morning contest 35-33 against Hinsdale Central, while losing the night game 45-33 to Providence Catholic. The morning game was indeed a strange contest. The Bears were up 33-18 at the beginning of the second half when they went ice cold and didn’t score for the final 15 minutes and 40 seconds of the game. “I’ve seen about 3,000 games over the years, between the games I’ve coached and the games I’ve scouted, and I’ve never seen a game like that,” said Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett. Outscored 15-2 down the stretch by the Red Devils, the Bears had fortunately built up a …

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Blue Devils Outlast Bears, 43-39

Lake Zurich girls play one of their best games of the season, but comes up short.

Playing one of their best games of the season, the Lake Zurich girls basketball team was outscored by Warren down the stretch and ended up losing, 43-39. “It’s tough when you play a really good game and lose,” said Bears coach Chris Bennett. “They played extremely well, especially in the third quarter and through part of the fourth.” The Bears started off slow, and were victimized by the larger Blue Devils on several occasions when  fighting for the ball under the net. Warren’s 6’3” junior center Jessica Prince proved especially difficult to defend against, as she pulled down a number of rebounds on both ends of the court. “Considering the match-up with our players, I think our girls did a great job,” said Bennett. Maisie Cox started the …

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Lake Zurich Dominates in Win Against Lake Forest

Bears jump out to big lead early in 51-35 victory.

Getting off to a fast start wasn’t in the cards for either Lake Zurich (10-13) or Lake Forest during a matinee game on Saturday. After more than three minutes into the first quarter, the Bears led by just 4-0, and it was almost midway through the quarter before the Scouts put up their first points, when junior guard Cat Perino went 2-for-2 from the free throw line. By then, Lake Zurich had built an 8-2 lead, thanks in part to back-to-back baskets by Katherine Anderson, one a layup from the right side, and the other scored from under the net after a feed by Karlissa Skarb. A terrific midcourt steal by Lake Zurich’s Stephanie Schmid late in the quarter resulted in a score, as Scmid drove it all the way in for the basket. By the end of the …

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Bears Bitten By Wildcats, 42-25

Lake Zurich plays well early, but are outscored 16-4 in the third quarter.

After losing  to Maine West 40-30 last Wednesday, Lake Zurich girls basketball coach Chris Bennett decided to hold a team meeting. “We had a talk as a team after the Maine West game about how we played,” said Bennett The meeting might have helped against undefeated Libertyville (19-0/8-0) for about a quarter and a half.  But eventually, the Wildcats had their way with the Bears and cruised  to a 42-25 victory in Libertyville on Saturday night.  Lake Zurich (9-13/3-5) kept the score relatively close throughout the first quarter, with Libertyville leading, 12-7.  But the Wildcats began to implement their overwhelming defense as the second quarter progressed.  Sparked by a 9-2 run early in the second quarter, they outscored the Bears 9-4 and …

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