Wauconda comes up with a Classic three-win exit
Wauconda guard Allie Tylka got a text message from coach Jaime Dennis over the weekend.
Dennis explained to her three-year varsity starter that despite beating Johnsburg in their second of two games Saturday, the Bulldogs - and not the team they just defeated - got put into the fourth-place consolation bracket of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic. Wauconda had finished in a three-way tie for second place in its pool with a 1-2 record.
Point differential was the Bulldogs' undoing.
"It was rough," Tylka said. "We were like, 'That's not fair.' We just said, 'Let's make the best of it and go out and beat the other teams by as much as possible and show them where we should have been."
Done.
By beating Round Lake 45-26 at McHenry's West Campus on Tuesday night, Wauconda finished the tournament with three wins in a row. It's the first three-game winning streak for the Bulldogs (8-6), who went 3-2 in the tourney.
Tylka's 22 points led the way against Round Lake (4-12, 1-4 tourney), which will host Wauconda on Jan. 5, when the two teams resume play after break. Tylka shot 4 of 4 from three-point range and 6 of 6 from the stripe.
Round Lake was missing two starters, Diane Flade and Samantha Nicoline, both of whom sat on the bench with crutches by their side. Flade broke her left foot against Grant last week and actually played the Panthers' first three games of the Holiday Classic before finally yielding to the injury. Nicoline sprained her knee against Richmond-Burton on Monday.
Flade is expected to be out 4-6 weeks, while Nicoline could be back after break.
"We're a little thin, but I thought the girls competed and executed and did the things we wanted them to do," Round Lake coach Doug Barnshaw said. "We needed another gear at the end to be able to put some pressure on, and we didn't have that."
Tylka scored 67 points in the Bulldogs' last three games and averaged 18 ppg in the tournament.
"I really can't take her off the floor," said Dennis, who has five freshmen playing heavy minutes. "When we take her off the floor, the dynamics of our team completely change, offensively and defensively."
Tylka has taken her game to another level since last season. Part of the 6-footer's development included switching to a new AAU team (Illinois Elite out of Arlington Heights) this summer.
"I have a trainer and I just worked on offensive moves," Tylka said. "When I was younger, I used to be more of a defensive player. I had to make offense more a part of my game."
Kiara Billups led Round Lake with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 steals. The 5-10 senior forward scored 12 points the previous night.
"She's picked it up in the last 10 days," Barnshaw said. "She's started to look to attack more and attack in transition."
Tylka, who also had 4 steals and 4 rebounds, was Wauconda's only double-digit scorer. Freshman guard Ella Karg scored 6 points, and freshman Kiley Szmajda grabbed 8 rebounds. Szmajda (4 points) finished a layup in the closing seconds of the first half to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 21-12.
Round Lake never got closer than eight the rest of the way after Billups split 2 free throws early in the third quarter.
"We had two horrendous games (against Crystal Lake Central and Marengo) to start the tournament," Dennis said. "It put us behind the Eight Ball a little bit. We recovered, played awesome against Johnsburg - one of our best games of the year - and we came out strong (Monday against Woodstock). Then we went back to some of the same habits (against Round Lake). It's a win, but not our best performance to go into break."
Crystal Lake South 45, Lakes 41: At McHenry, the Eagles wrapped up the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic with their second loss in as many nights.
Sara Smith had 15 points, including two 3-pointers, for Lakes (5-10, 3-2 tourney). Taylor Lehman added 10 points, including a 3. The Eagles led 15-11 after one quarter but got outscored 12-2 in the second quarter, before cutting their deficit to 34-32 after three.