Shepard, Grayslake Central sniff out a victory
Emma Shepard, slightly bigger than a pup shepherd, attacked.
“For a little kid,” Grayslake Central girls basketball coach Steve Ikenn said of his 5-foot-4 starting guard, “she has no fear.”
Grayslake Central's Shepard showed some bite against Vernon Hills. First, she scooted past 6-2 Meri Bennett-Swanson and scooped in a shot. Later in the second quarter, she maneuvered around 6-foot Lauren Webb in the lane and scored again.
Shepard's season-high 8 points — and her moxie — helped Grayslake Central down visiting Vernon Hills 46-40 in a nonconference matchup between two of Lake County's top Class 3A squads Tuesday night.
“We were playing well as a team, so that motivates everyone,” said Shepard, taking no credit.
“Don't make her out to be too much of a star,” Cougars coach Paul Brettner joked while walking past Shepard, who was giving an interview. “She only killed us.”
During the Buffalo Grove tournament, Shepard scored 9 points in four games.
“Emma stepped up huge for us this game,” said Skyler Jessop, who led Grayslake Central with a game-high 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals. “Normally, she's timid. But she broke out of her shell tonight and showed how to play.”
Shepard's play was complemented by Jessop, Beth Arnold (6 points, 6 rebounds), Morgan Dahlstrom (6 points), Claire Brennan (10 points, 5 boards) and Michelle Lettenmair (7 rebounds coming off the bench). Brennan hit the front end of a pair of 1-and-1's in the final 1:21, going 4 of 4 from the line, after Vernon Hills pulled within 42-20.
The win was the fourth straight for Grayslake Central (4-2), which opened the season with losses to Libertyville and Maine South.
“The first two games we played were against really tough teams,” Jessop said. “I think losing against those teams really helped us.”
Vernon Hills (4-1) built a 16-12 lead after one quarter, but the Cougars were outscored 12-3 in the second quarter. Webb (7 rebounds, 3 blocks) scored all 9 of her points, including a 3-pointer, in the first quarter for Vernon Hills.
Sydney Smith led the Cougars with 14 points (two 3s) and 5 steals. Bennett-Swanson had 7 points and 12 rebounds.
“We started strong,” Brettner said. “They made some adjustments, and the way they defended us, I don't think we reacted real well toward the middle of the game, third quarter. I thought we were tentative. Our passes weren't as crisp. But the fourth quarter we came back strong and gave ourselves a chance.”
Grayslake Central switched to a zone in the opening quarter after the 6-1 Dahlstrom picked up her second foul. The Rams stayed in that defense for most of the night.
“We knew we were going to have trouble anyway,” Ikenn said. “Then when (Dahlstrom) got into foul trouble, we figured we'd give it a try and see if we could throw (Vernon Hills) off a little bit, rearrange things, and take advantage of our speed more than our size.”
Jessop's steal and pull-up jumper snapped an 18-18 tie midway through the second quarter. Shepard's steal and dish to Brennan extended the Rams' advantage to 22-18.
Shepard then scored herself on Grayslake Central's next possession.
Shepard, who had 3 assists and 2 steals, sank 2 more shots in the third quarter to help the hosts take a 38-29 lead into the fourth.
“Emma's a great kid,” Ikenn said. “She works hard. I thought she really came through tonight handling the ball. When Claire got in foul trouble (in the first quarter), she stepped up and handled the point beautifully, made some big shots and took the ball to the hoop.”