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Gilbertson, Lake Zurich loom large against Lakes

Her older brother, former Lake Zurich center Andrew Gilbertson, stands close to 6-feet, 7 inches.

His sister, Ella, is a sophomore for the girls basketball team. And she's already in the 6-foot range.

The question is inevitable: How tall will Ella be when her senior season arrives?

"I probably won't be 6-6,'' Gilbertson said.

Still a 6-foot-guard is something to feel good about for Lake Zurich. After all, the first quarter score on Tuesday night, read Gilbertson 6 and Lakes 4.

No, the sophomore didn't lead the Eagles the entire game.

And Lakes (0-4) won the 3-point shooting in the Turkey Thriller held at Lake Zurich. Five different Eagles connected from long range.

Lakes, however, had just 9 field goals all night as the Bears prevailed 40-29.

"We can't seem to score,'' said Lakes coach Brian Phelan. "We had a great defensive effort. We really battled. But offensively, we simply struggled."

Lake Zurich coach, Chris Bennett, too, applauded the Lakes defense.

"We couldn't put them away,'' Bennett said. "They did a really good job of staying in this game. We didn't get any looks from from three."

The Bears have split four games in the Lake Zurich Tournament but Gilbertson is confident in this year's team.

"This team has a lot of chemistry,'' she said. "No one is selfish. And we just don't have all guards. I also think Lakes got out on our shooters tonight."

Gilbertson paced Lake Zurich with 14 points. She also added 5 rebounds.

"I like the way she took the ball to the basket,'' Bennett added.

The Eagles knotted it at 4-4 when 5-foot-11 junior guard Kylie Jozwik nailed a 3. Gilbertson scored a pair of buckets and LZ center McKenna Zobel (6 points) scored on a rebound bucket. It was 10-4 Bears at quarter's end.

"Lake Zurich played smart,'' Phelan noted. "They made some good adjustments."

On another rebound bucket from Maddy Piggott, the Bears' lead was a comfortable 21-9 late in second quarter. Piggott had 7 points and paced the Bears with her 8 rebounds. The junior added 3 steals.

Lakes inside player Mia Edwards opened the third-quarter scoring with a 3. Lakes senior Abigail Korjenek followed Edwards with another, and on 2 free throws from Edwards, the Bears' lead had slipped to single digits at 31-22.

"We played even with them after the first quarter,'' Phelan said.

A Piggott drive restored the Lake Zurich lead to 35-22 in the fourth quarter. Lakes junior guard Sara Smith had 8 of her team-high 10 points in the second half. In the second half, she tallied the Eagles' final 3 and also scored on a 3-point play. Edwards finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds.

"We just need to keep grinding,'' Phelan said.

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