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Conant shows defensive prowess

How often do you hear defense wins games?

Conant's girls basketball players heard it a lot from first-year coach Deirdre Naughton prior to its faceoff with Loyola in Friday's semifinals of the Mundelein Mustangs Holiday Classic Tournament.

"The biggest thing is that we came here talking about defense," Naughton said.

Talk about playing defense.

The Cougars limited the Ramblers to 7 or fewer points in each quarter - including 3 in the first and 2 in the third - and posted a 28-18 triumph.

Conant (10-2) will face Vernon Hills (12-3) for the championship of the tourney at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The Cougars didn't exactly come close to equaling their 51.8 points per game on offense.

But because of their collapsing zone defense zone and tight coverage out on top, the Cougars held Loyola significantly below its mid-50s average.

"That was one of the best games we've played all season defensively," said Naughton, whose team was tied 9-9 at intermission. "And it was against a really good offensive team. We wanted to shut down all the things they could do.

"They do a lot of high-low and they shoot a lot of 3s. So we had to get out on the arc."

The Cougars did not allow any 3-pointers and got two key ones themselves from sophomore guard Jorie Wachal.

Her first one came with 4:25 left in the first half and gave the Cougars their biggest lead (9-3) until the 5:13 mark of the final quarter when Wachal hit her second 3-pointer for a 21-13 cushion.

That long-range shot was part of a 9-0 run which put the game away.

The rally included a driving layup by Haley Anderson, a 12-foot baseline jumper from Dani Engelbreit (3 steals) and free throws from Lexi Zades and Katie Lomas, who had a steal and layup in the first quarter which gave Conant its first lead.

"That was the best defense we've played all season," said Lomas, a four-year varsity player for the Cougars. "We had to play big on their posts and we did that. And we needed help-side defense and to play as a team. That's what gets us there."

And the Cougars executed on offense at the end, producing the only double-digit quarter (13 points in the fourth) of the game.

"We couldn't hit that much at the beginning,' said Lomas, who had both of her buckets in the first half. "But we knew if we if we stayed patient, it would come."

The most Cougars points came from point guard Nireet Dhillon, who had 8 along with 3 rebounds.

The Cougars were led on the boards by Anderson (5), who also dished out 3 assists. Teammate Alyssa Wachal grabbed 3 rebounds.

Loyola's top scorer was Sarah Elston (6-foot-1 senior forward) who had 5 points, all in the first half.

"Conant came out to play but we really struggled and it showed on the scoreboard," said Ramblers coach Jeremy Shoenecker. "It was our lack of not being tough and finishing around the basket. The things we've done all season we did not do this game."

Conant did what it's been doing most of the season - winning.

Its only two losses are two Fremd and Prospect, which are a combined 23-2.

"It's really been a team effort," Naughton said. "Everyone stepped up this game. Even when we brought in subs, nothing changed."

The Cougars just changed the course of the game with some of their finest defense of the season.

"We knew if they couldn't reverse the ball, it would be hard for them," Naughton said. "And our girls did a great job at that."

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