Libertyville zones out Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich was not winning this battle.

Frankie Nasca vs. Libertyville's bleachers? Nasca stands 5 feet 3. Libertyville's bleachers are constructed of heavy lumber.

Nasca chased a loose ball during Tuesday night's North Suburban Lake Division game and wiped out, hard. Both of her forehead and hip crashed into the bleachers. The spunky junior guard lay crumpled in the front row, face down, for several minutes, as an entire gym got quiet.

"I've done that before - but not like on benches, more like on chairs," Libertyville sophomore guard Riley Weis said. "(Chairs) move back. Benches don't."

Libertyville's defense yielded little too. The Wildcats' newly installed 2-3 zone frustrated the visiting Bears, and center Becky Deichl's 15 points and 6 rebounds led the way in a 39-22 win. Weis added 10 points, including the game's only two 3-pointers.

Libertyville improved to 6-3 and 2-1 in the NSC Lake, while Lake Zurich fell to 4-4 and 2-1.

"We needed to stop letting people get past us on that first line of frontcourt defense," said coach Greg Pedersen, whose Wildcats had been getting burned by speedy, penetrating guards. "We haven't played much 2-3 at all this year. We worked on it and got it ready for today."

Nasca left the gym in a wheelchair. Her injury, which occurred early in the fourth quarter, delayed the game for 15 minutes.

"She was in pretty bad shape, but she'll be OK," Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said. "No blood anywhere. She'll probably have some bruising, and I'm guessing she'll have a heck of a headache."

Maggie Piazzi's scoop shot beat the first-quarter buzzer and had Libertyville up 9-2. Lake Zurich scored the first 5 points of the second quarter before the Wildcats put together a 6-0 run, as Claire Keefe (4 points, 5 rebounds) scored on a putback, Deichl sank a low-post shot and Hannah Heraty (4 points) converted in transition.

Only a 3-point play by Abby Pirron (5 points) in the final minute got Lake Zurich into double digits by halftime.

"It was a pretty simple 2-3 zone," Bennett said of Libertyville's defense. "We struggled to make passes and get the ball where we wanted to get it. As well as we played Friday night (a last-second win over Zion-Benton), that's how poorly we played tonight."

Libertyville outscored Lake Zurich 9-2 in the third, as the visitors shot 1 of 12 from the floor.

"I think our defense was strong," Weis said. "We had a really good wall. If one person got past, we got help."

"We just put this (2-3 zone) in (Monday) at practice to try to shock them and change it up a little," Deichl said. "I think we did a really good job of capitalizing. We were able to move around really well, even in a defense that we weren't accustomed to. Everyone worked together, and I think the communication was really good."

Elly Daleske led Lake Zurich with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Up 24-12 after three, Libertyville sank 11 of 15 free throws in the fourth. Piazzi (6 points) went 4 of 4 from the line, while Deichl (6-of-10 shooting) made 3 of 4.

"I thought we played really well," Pedersen said. "We deliberately wanted to slow things down and make sure we were maximizing offensive possessions."