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Libertyville gets by Hoffman Estates

Another elbow introduced itself rather rudely to one of Nicole Kruckman's front teeth Wednesday night.

The Libertyville junior center nearly lost the same tooth in a basketball game earlier this winter, after an elbow belonging to a Lake Zurich Bear inadvertently mashed the Wildcat's mouth.

“It was hanging by a thread,” the 6-foot Kruckman recalled. “Had to get a root canal.”

A Hoffman Estates Hawk's elbow inadvertently bumped Kruckman's right front tooth Wednesday in a Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic semifinal at Mundelein.

Kruckman, who wears a black mouth guard when she takes the court, later ran to her team's bench, thinking the worst.

“I asked one of my teammates, ‘Is the tooth still in?' ” Kruckman said.

Music to Kruckman's ears was delivered by her mate: “Yes, it's still in.”

What also stayed intact after Kruckman and Co. downed Hoffman 38-26: Libertyville's perfect season. The Wildcats (14-0) face either Cary-Grove or Zion-Benton for the title at 8 p.m. today.

Kruckman finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.

Her final theft was a textbook example of ball denial. Positioned perfectly against the Hawk she was guarding in the fourth quarter, Kruckman used her left arm to disrupt a waist-level pass and then immediately collected the loose ball before shoving it to a teammate in transition.

“Nicole is a smart player, understands concepts very well,” Wildcats coach Kathie Swanson said. “And she works hard, every single day. She's a force for us inside. In practices she's all business, like most of our players, which I like.”

Swanson wasn't thrilled with her team's overall performance against Hoffman (11-3). Libertyville lacked rhythm offensively and did not capitalize like it normally does against a zone defense. But her club's defense prevented Hoffman from scoring more than 7 points in any quarter.

“We did not execute consistently enough on offense,” Hawks coach Mike Nocella said. “That was our main problem tonight, and Libertyville did a good job of taking us out of our game plan. But I was happy with our defensive effort. We got the job done at that end of the court.”

Libertyville trailed 7-4 before scoring the final 7 points of the first quarter. Wildcats senior point guard Savannah Trees (team-high 12 points, 4 rebounds) hit the first of her two treys to open the second frame. Her other 3-pointer put the Wildcats up 21-13.

Neither team tallied a point in the final 4:21 of the second quarter.

“We knew we had to be aware of their players with the great first names,” said Kruckman, referring to Hawks post players Jada Stotts, Destinee Young and Precious Ogunleye. “They're good players.”

Young (12 points, 6 rebounds) netted nearly half of Hoffman's points; Stotts (6) connected for a pair of treys, including the one that cut Libertyville's advantage to 25-20 at 2:49 of the third quarter. Libertyville couldn't breathe comfortably until Trees' driving layup in the fourth quarter gave her squad a 34-24 lead.

Classmate Kaca Savatic, a forward, finished with only 3 points. But she blanketed the court with her hustle and shrewd play all night, earning a steal in each quarter and coming down with 8 boards.

“Libertyville intimidated us a little bit,” said Stotts, who had a team-best 3 steals. “They knew our plays well. We had a tendency of breaking down (on offense) after our first option wasn't there. We need to execute our second and third options better than we did tonight. We're pretty proud, though, of the way we played defensively.

“We get excited when we play a great team like Libertyville.”

Libertyville senior guard Valerie Van Roeyen struck for all 6 of her points in the first quarter. One of her 3 field goals was a put-back and another came on an inbound play. Junior teammate Alex Haley (5 points) nailed a 3-pointer right before the third-quarter buzzer.

Images: Libertyville vs. Hoffman Estates girls basketball

  Libertyville forward Kaca Savatic is fouled as she breaks away from Hoffman Estates guard Mary Pettit during Mundelein tournament semifinal action on Wednesday. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville center Nicole Kruckman goes up for a layup during the girls basketball semifinal game between Libertyville and Hoffman Estates Wednesday at the 2010 Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic at Mundelein High School. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Hoffman Estates guard Becca Stoczynski tries to drive past Libertyville forward Kaca Savatic during the girls basketball semifinal game between Libertyville and Hoffman Estates Wednesday at the 2010 Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic at Mundelein High School. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com