Defensive posture suits developing Grayslake North

The offense will come.

Right now, the Grayslake North girls basketball team is concentrating on its defense.

"We have to, we have to," Grayslake North coach Rob Nicoletti said. "We are a work in progress offensively, so we have to hang our hat on the defensive end and get stops to keep us in games."

Part of the reason Grayslake North is a "work in progress" is that youth is a factor. There are three sophomores with a lot to learn up on varsity, Savannah Guenther, Jordyn Gerdes and Margaret Stanfel, and all three have been asked to play key roles.

The sophomores came up big for the Knights Friday night in the Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament. Guenther scored a team-high 11 points to lead Grayslake North to a 40-31 victory over host Mundelein.

Stanfel added 8 points and Gerdes had 6 points on 2 three-pointers.

"Everyone is stepping up to the challenge and I think all of us (sophomores) look up to the older kids," Guenther said. "But we all still take responsibility for what needs to be done."

Grayslake North, which also got 10 points out of senior guard Sidney Lovitsch, clung to a 30-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter but got points from all three sophomores in the final eight minutes to pull away.

"Finally we started making stops and then converting on the other end," Nicoletti said. "But credit to Mundelein. They kept fighting and playing hard."

Mundelein has its own story of youth.

Freshman guard Morgan Frank was the game's leading scorer. She scored 12 points for the Mustangs, including 2 three-pointers.

"My teammates have been really supportive of me being on the team," said Frank, a starter. "They always make me smile.

"Coach has been watching me the past couple years and he thought he saw something there to move me up."

Mundelein connected on 5 three-pointers but attempted 22 from long range. In its previous game, the Mustangs made 9 three-pointers. They were hoping for similar results against Grayslake North.

"We understand that a majority of our games, if not all of them, height is going to be an issue for us," Mundelein coach Martin Pazanin said. "Morgan is our tallest player and she is a 5-foot-11 shooting guard. "We need to be able to knock down that (three-point) shot and we have multiple shooters who can do that."

Carmel 39, Highland Park 28: Carmel got double-figures from two players to push past Highland Park in the Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament.

Ava Spear led the way with a game-high 12 points while Maddie Motzel added 10 points. Lily Kahn topped Highland Park with 8 points.

Glenbrook South 59, Grant 34: Glenbrook South got out to a 19-1 lead by the end of the first quarter and kept its foot on the gas at the Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament.

Carie Weinman poured in a game-high 19 points for Glenbrook South while Lizzy Shaw added 13 points.

Grant was led by Ameerah Muhammed, who finished with 8 points.