Libertyville finds winning spirit
Possibly too much Christmas Day merriment was the reasoning behind Libertyville's sluggish start in third-round action against Grant in the Mundelein Holiday Classic on Friday afternoon.
"Maybe it was eggnog, but definitely too many cookies," said Wildcats senior center Becky Deichl, who poured in a game-high 15 points to accompany 10 boards. "We had trouble hitting our shots (in the first half). But in the second half we got ourselves into better position to make easier shots. Everyone played hard tonight."
Whatever the reason, Libertyville shook it off in that second half and eventually produced a 41-29 victory over the pesky Bulldogs.
It was Deichl's 3-point play with 2:55 left in the opening act that put Libertyville ahead for good at 6-4. From there, the Wildcats went on a 9-2 run for a 15-6 advantage to end the period and create some needed separation.
Both teams had trouble shooting in the second stanza with Libertyville going 2-for-10 and Grant 1-for-9. But the Wildcats toughened on defense by forcing 6 turnovers and ultimately grabbed a 19-8 lead heading into the locker room.
Libertyville stayed the course in the third frame, going up by as many as 16 (33-17) with just over two minutes left. Deichl found her groove inside scoring six and Libertyville led 33-19 with 24 minutes in the books. Grant wasn't going away that easily, however. Senior forward Amanda Weaver kept her team in it by being aggressive in the paint. She scored 6 of her team-leading 10 points in the second half, all inside. Weaver also snagged 14 rebounds in the game.
"We tried making it a little tough on them (Libertyville)," said Grant coach Matt Lukemeyer. "They're a very good team, especially defensively, and I was proud of how we hung in there and responded. We just needed to have better possessions. We didn't attack the basket enough."
And speaking of its defense, the Wildcats did a good job holding Grant leading scorer Jasmine Sangster, a flashy junior guard who averages 16 ppg but was held to just 9 in this matchp.
"We knew we had to try and shut her down," added Pedersen. "We still need to tighten up our defense as we continue to move forward."
Grant closed the deficit to 10 points on a couple of different occasions in the fourth but it was a little too much Deichl and the Wildcats defense. Sophomore guard Riley Weis complemented Deichl by popping in 8 points, including two treys.
Libertyville sophomore forward Claire Keefe added 6 points to go along with 10 boards. However, it didn't come easily as she experienced lower back pain after falling awkwardly while playing defense late in the third period. She received treatment and played the fourth but soon after the game ended experienced excruciating pain when her lower back really tightened. It wasn't certain at the time but she hopes to be in action against Cary-Grove on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats, who improved to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in the tournament, play Cary-Grove in the fifth-place game today at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Meanwhile, Grant will tangle with host Mundelein in the seventh-place game at 3:30.