Grayslake North wins 10th straight
Grayslake North center Joanna Guhl, who usually seeks out rebounds, sought out a bag of ice.
Like a rebound, she secured it and clutched it tightly.The 5-foot-10 junior planned to apply her bundle of ice cubes around her right ankle. She originally suffered her injury last Friday night against Richmond-Burton and aggravated it Wednesday night in the first quarter of the Knights#146; 33-19 win over Crystal Lake Central in a semifinal of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic at McHenry.
#147;Just ice,#148; said Guhl, Grayslake North#146;s double-double machine. #147;All night, all morning. It#146;ll be good.#148;
Marengo, which beat Marian Central 58-43, will try to cool Guhl and her better-than-good teammates in today#146;s 1:30 p.m. championship game at McHenry.
Grayslake North (10-3, 4-0 tournament), which stretched its school-record winning streak to 10 games, is seeking the first tournament title in its history.
#147;We have a positive attitude,#148; said Jordyn Bowen, who led the Knights#146; defensive effort against Crystal Lake Central with 7 steals and also hustled for 6 rebounds. #147;In practice, we go really hard.#148;
#147;We just feed off each other#146;s effort,#148; Guhl said. #147;We have a really good bond.#148;
The Knights boast good chemistry, too.
Guhl, who sat most of the first half, toughed it out to get back on the court in the third quarter. In the closing seconds, Grayslake North secured the rebound of a missed Tigers free throw and quickly pushed the ball upcourt. Bowen found Guhl filling the lane, and Guhl#146;s layup with 3 seconds left had the Knights up 24-13.
#147;I wanted to help support our team,#148; said Guhl, who had 8 points in limited minutes. #147;So I went out and tried my best.#148;
#147;I sat her out as long as she wanted to sit out, and then she said she was ready,#148; Sarver said. #147;Jordyn hit her with a great pass, and it really kind of broke (Crystal Lake Central#146;s) back.#148;
Grayslake North#146;s defensive pressure caused problems for Crystal Lake Central (2-2 tournament) all game. Bowen and Brooke Sauer each had 3 steals in the opening quarter in helping the Knights build an 8-2 lead, which they extended to 13-8 by halftime.
Kendall Detweiler, whose 30 points against North Chicago last Saturday were 1 shy of Lauren Erickson#146;s single-game school record, led Grayslake North with a game-high 12 points. Sauer finished with 6 steals and 6 rebounds, and 6-1 Christina Freese filled in creditably for Guhl by blocking 4 shots.
#147;The majority of games we#146;ve won have been a team effort,#148; Sarver said. #147;Kendall#146;s gotten her big points in some games. But games like this, it#146;s been a big-time team effort.#148;
The Knights#146; relentless pressure and Detweiler#146;s lone 3-pointer helped them outscore the Tigers 11-5 in the third quarter.
Crystal Lake Central committed 29 turnovers.
#147;We didn#146;t play as well as we wanted in the first half, but then we went into the locker room and we were like, #145;OK, let#146;s do what we do best in the second half,#146; #148; Bowen said. #147;We came out and we did that.#148;