Zobel's display of self-control helps Lake Zurich past Mundelein
As she lined up to watch Mundelein's Hannah Buscher shoot a pair of free throws, Lake Zurich's McKenna Zobel pivoted her head, looked back at Bears coach Chris Bennett and extended her hand.
Zobel had just picked up her third personal foul, and most of the third quarter remained.
"I was like, 'I got it. Don't take me out,' " Zobel said, smiling.
Bennett didn't, and his trust in the 6-foot junior veteran paid off. Zobel's big second half helped visiting Lake Zurich capture a 44-34 win Thursday night in North Suburban Conference action, avenging the Bears' one-point loss at home on Dec. 2.
Lake Zurich (9-11, 5-3) had lost its last three games and six of its last seven.
"We've been struggling recently because we've played a really good schedule," said Bennett, whose Bears played in Montini's rugged Christmas tournament and then opened 2017 by losing to NSC-leader Stevenson. "We definitely needed a win."
Playing a Mundelein team that went 4-0 in Kewanee's MLK tournament, Lake Zurich started fast. Zobel's offensive-rebound basket opened the scoring, but she picked up her second foul shortly after that and sat the rest of the half.
She finished the game with 8 points and a game-high 8 rebounds.
"This whole season I've been struggling with the fouls," Zobel said. "I've been getting so many fouls, and I've been fouling out. I think this game was finally a wake-up call. I got two fouls at the beginning, and I really wanted to play the next half."
She didn't disappoint herself - nor Bennett.
"I got the third foul and I was like, 'OK, I know I need to keep control,' " Zobel said. "I played smarter."
Her coach agreed.
"She played very intelligently not to pick up her fourth (foul)," Bennett said. "You trust her until you can't trust her, and tonight I gave her a chance to show me I can trust her. She showed me I can trust her."
Led by Zobel, Lake Zurich enjoyed a 28-12 rebounding edge.
"We didn't put bodies on (Lake Zurich)," Mustangs coach Martin Pazanin said. "Defensively, we did OK. They run their flex really well. But I think if we rebound, we win the game."
Lake Zurich held Mundelein sharpshooter Kendall Wald (4 points), who was named MVP at Kewanee, scoreless for three quarters. Wald's drive with 1:38 left got the Mustangs within 40-34, but Zobel finished a layup after the Bears broke pressure, and Grace Kinsey (5 points) sank 2 free throws to finish the scoring.
Lake Zurich nearly shut out the hosts in the opening quarter. Kelsy Austwick's jumper beat the first-quarter buzzer to pull the Mustangs within 8-2. The shooting of Sarah Ouimet and Buscher helped Mundelein outscore Lake Zurich 15-12 to trim its deficit to 20-17 by halftime.
"Lake Zurich's obviously going to play good defense," Pazanin said. "The first quarter we got good shots. They just didn't go in. The second quarter, we had the same quality shots. They went in."
Freshman Ella Gilbertson led Lake Zurich in scoring with 11 points, including the Bears' only 3-pointer, while sophomore Morgan Long had 9 points and 4 rebounds.
Freshman Morgan Frank paced Mundelein (10-14, 2-7) with 9 points. Ouimet netted all 8 of her points in the second quarter. Buscher (6 points) and Rachel Tipperreiter (3 points) had the Mustangs' only 3-pointers.
"They play so well," Zobel said of the Mustangs. "They're fast and they have really good 3-point shooters. They're shorter than we are, but they can make all of their shots."