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Hip, hip, hooray for Trees, Libertyville

The girl with the achy hip looked so hip. So unnerved.

Savannah Trees can dribble a basketball no matter who’s pressuring her, so juggling three items at once wasn’t fazing her.

In her hands, Libertyville’s senior point guard calmly held the cumbersome North Suburban Conference championship trophy and two signs, including one that simply read, “27-0,” all while talking to teammates and then reporters.

“She’s playing hurt, too,” Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson said. “She’s laboring.”

With Libertyville and visiting Wauconda all tied with less than five minutes left in Wednesday night’s NSC championship game, Trees scored the final 10 points, and the Wildcats beat the Bulldogs 37-27.

A star stepping up in a big game, despite not being at full strength?

That’s so hip.

“She always pulls through when we really need her to,” Libertyville junior Jackie Hansen, who provided huge minutes off the bench, said of Trees. “That’s why she’s a great point guard. She’s great defensively and offensively. It’s great to be on her team.”

Trees led all scorers with 18 points — just nine fewer than Wauconda — as Libertyville survived a scare from the “under-’Dogs” to improve to, as the sign noted, 27-0. Wauconda (21-3) also lost to Libertyville in last year’s conference championship game.

“Defensively, that’s the best game we’ve played all year,” said coach Jaime Dennis, whose Bulldogs helped force 18 turnovers, including 11 in the first quarter. “I talked to some of them this morning and they were pretty confident.”

Trees was equally confident in her Libertyville team.

“I think we all thought (it was going to be a blowout), and I think that was the wrong mind set for us to have,” Trees said. “(Wauconda) came out really strong. I was impressed with how they played.”

Like her team, Trees persevered. She was the game’s only double-digit scorer.

“I was in a lot of pain the whole game,” said Trees, who hurt the back of her left hip while trying to take a charge against New Trier on Monday. “It got better the more I played, but it was really hard on defense to stay with my girl.”

With the Wildcats trailing 10-7 in the second quarter, and Trees unable to dominate like she typically does, Swanson looked down her bench. The coach called on Hansen, who’s played sparingly all season.

Hansen responded by hustling for 4 offensive rebounds and hitting 3 of 4 free throws in the second quarter, helping Libertyville take a 19-12 advantage into halftime.

“Huge,” Swanson said of Hansen’s effort. “She did what the other girls on the team should have done — put pressure on them. She earned the playing time that she got.”

Hansen, who started the second half, finished with 7 rebounds, 3 points and 2 steals.

“I was trying to work hard on defense,” Hansen said. “We needed to get a lot of defensive stops because defensive stops really create our offense. We weren’t on our game at the beginning so I tried to step it up.”

Melanie Prudhomme banked in a right-wing 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to pull Wauconda within 25-23.

When Prudhomme fed Roslyn Summerville for a layup and foul, the score was tied 27-27 with 5:35 left. But Summerville (team-high 9 points) missed the free throw, and Wauconda never scored again.

Trees put Libertyville back on top with her second 3 and then converted a three-point play, after Nicole Kruckman found her off a screen to get to the basket.

Trees sealed the win by going 4 of 4 from the line in the final minute.

“It was getting way too close at the end and somebody needed to step up,” Trees said.

“I think we (proved) ourselves,” said Prudhomme, who had 5 points and 4 assists.

“I think that we’re a very good team and no one really notices. We came in and we stuck with Libertyville.”

Wauconda lost, but might have gained some confidence.

“I think so,” said Dennis, whose team accomplished its objective of limiting Libertyville’s possessions. “I don’t think very many people gave us a chance.”

Images: Wauconda at Libertyville girls basketball

  The Libertyville team celebrates after they beat Wauconda to win the NSC Title game Wednesday night in Libertyville. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville’s Kaca Savatic, left, and Wauconda’s Tammy Ellis battle for a loose ball during the NSC Title game Wednesday night in Libertyville. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville’s Nicole Kruckman, left, defends against Wauconda’s Roslyn Summerville during the NSC Title game Wednesday night in Libertyville. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville’s Nicole Kruckman, left, defends against Wauconda’s Roslyn Summerville during the NSC Title game Wednesday night in Libertyville. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Wauconda’s Melanie Prudhomme drives on Libertyville’s Savannah Trees during the NSC Title game Wednesday night in Libertyville. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Melanie Prudhomme of Wauconda and Savannah Trees of Libertyville battle for a loose ball. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Libertville’s Jackie Hansen, left, defends against Wauconda’s Diana Enriquez. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com