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Wauconda surprises Vernon Hills

Lauren Nee scored 15 points and hustled for 6 rebounds, as Wauconda’s girls basketball team stunned visiting Vernon Hills 50-47 in North Suburban Prairie Division action Tuesday night.

Anna Wisniewski added 10 points for the Bulldogs (5-4, 2-1), who won their third in a row after winning a pair of games Saturday in the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic at Woodstock.

“When we put a full game together, we can do some pretty incredible things,” Wauconda coach Jaime Dennis said. “We asked them to finally play hard the whole game, come up with a full game — because we just haven’t played one yet this year — and execute our offense and defensive plan, and they did it.”

The Bulldogs won just six games last season and were handled easily twice by Vernon Hills.

“They were ecstatic (after the game),” Dennis said of her players. “It was the biggest we’ve had in several years. Now it just gives them confidence. They feel like they can play with anybody.”

Sydney Smith scored 26 points for defending NSC champ Vernon Hills (8-3, 2-2), which lost its second in a row and third in four games.

“It was a great team win — lots of contributors offensively and defensively,” Dennis said. “It took several girls to slow down Smith. You’re never going to stop her. She’s an incredible kid.”

Nee’s effort was especially impressive since Natalie Harding was out with the flu. Harding starts at a guard spot and takes over the point when Nee needs a break.

“Lauren played pretty much the whole game,” Dennis said. “She handled the ball against their press and scored some big-time points.”

Wauconda also received 8 points and 7 rebounds from freshman Katie Rossetti. Amber Head and Dani Sturm grabbed 7 and 6 rebounds, respectively. Jessie Wood helped out with 3 blocked shots and 4 points.

Libertyville 58, Mundelein 49:Becky Deichl scored 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and all five starters scored in double figures, as the visiting Wildcats pulled out the North Suburban Lake Division win.

Claire Keefe led Libertyville (4-6, 3-1) in scoring with 13 points, while Mary Wilterdink had 12. Sydney Mudd and Rosie Lynch chipped in 10 apiece for the Wildcats, who trailed 15-10 after one quarter. Three-pointers by Wilterdink and Mudd helped Libertyville outscore Mundelein 20-12 in the second quarter, and the visitors were ahead 45-37 after three.

“We’re doing a nice job playing as a team and sharing the ball,” Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. “That’s definitely our key to success this year.”

Mundelein’s Maggie Mahar led all scorers with 20 points, including four 3s. Natalie Busscher had 9 points for the Mustangs.

Zion-Benton 68, Stevenson 58: Mia Yarbrough scored 28 points, and the host Zee-Bees led 20-9 after one quarter en route to the North Suburban Lake victory.

Stevenson (6-4, 3-1) trailed by as many as 17 points but got within six in the fourth quarter. Taylor Buford scored 17 points for the Patriots, while freshman Ashley Richardson added a season-high 16.

“We battled,” Stevenson coach Tom Dineen said. “But we had no answer for them inside.”

Melanie Despinich scored 9 points on three 3-pointers for Stevenson.

Prairie Ridge 65, Grayslake North 64: On Monday night, Sarah LeBeau sank a free throw with .7 seconds on the clock in double overtime to lift the host Wolves in the Fox Valley Conference crossover.

Grayslake North freshman Sidney Lovitsch made a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send it to the first OT.

Maggie Fish paced Grayslake North (4-5) with a career-high 21 points, including three 3s. She scored 10 points in overtime. The Knights also received double-digit points from Brittney Thibeaux (16), Kendall Detweiler (12) and Lovitsch (10).

Prairie Ridge avenged its loss to the Knights at Mundelein’s Thanksgiving tournament.

“Fun, competitive game,” Grayslake North coach Nate Flannery said. “Unfortunately, someone had to lose.”

North Chicago 68, Round Lake 31: On Monday night, Zion-Benton transfer Samantha Rodriguez scored 15 points for the Warhawks in the North Suburban Prairie contest.

Justice Clark had 11 points for Round Lake (1-12, 0-5).

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