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Emotional win helps Grayslake Central stay tied for NLCC lead

Games between Grayslake Central and Grayslake North are big anyway.

The two crosstown rivals always gear up for the chance to claim bragging rights, and take on friends from their middle school and park district days.

But Saturday's big girls basketball tilt between Central and North took on even more significance for Central than usual.

The Rams had a milestone on the line, as well as first place in the Northern Lake County Conference.

By holding on for a 32-30 win over Grayslake North, visiting Grayslake Central hit the 20-win plateau on the season and also stayed tied with Grant for first place in the NLCC. Both Grayslake Central (20-7 overall) and Grant are 12-1 in league play.

Grayslake North drops to 10-15 overall and 7-6 in league play with Saturday's loss.

"These games are always tough against North because the kids all grew up together," Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn said. "The pregame meeting, they're giving each other hugs instead of handshakes. They know each other well. It's always a tough game.

"But this is a benchmark win for us with 20. And we're tied in the conference still. I think we will go into the (state tournament) with a lot of confidence."

The Rams gained some confidence in their ability to perform with their backs against the wall. They were down the entire fourth quarter until Maura Fitzgerald hit a jumper with 1:15 left. That gave Central a 31-30 lead. Fitzgerald then hit a free throw to close out the scoring.

"In the back of our heads, we knew we could use our strategies to get the lead back," Fitzgerald said. "We wanted to be more patient on offense and we wanted to pick up our defense with more steals."

Defense, particularly pressure defense in the full court, was a key for Grayslake Central, which forced 8 North turnovers in the fourth quarter alone.

Grayslake Central averages at least 20 forced turnovers a game and forced North into 25 turnovers overall.

"We had some scoring droughts, but the key is, we kept playing defense through it and when you do that, you give yourself a chance," Ikenn said. "We play good pressure defense. A lot of times that's the difference for us. We're able to score off of turnovers and we don't even need to run a lot of offense that way."

Grayslake Central did not have any players score in double-figures. Jordyn Gosell finished with a team-high 8 points while Fitzgerald and Payton Gosell each had 7 points.

For Grayslake North, Jordyn Gerdes had a team-high 11 points, including three 3-pointers. She and teammate Margaret Stanfel hit back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter to give the Knights a 28-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But neither Gerdes or Stanfel scored again. In fact, only one North basket was scored in the fourth quarter, a layup by Savannah Guenther, who finished with 7 points.

"We played with a lot of energy tonight, but we got a little flustered because they kept up the high pressure all game," Gerdes said. "It just got out of our hands, but I'm really proud of how we played. It was just the turnovers.

"I just tried to shoot with a lot of confidence. It was a great game, it always is. There's always so much energy."

The Knights were hoping to avenge a close loss to Grayslake Central earlier in the season. That game at Grayslake Central was also a close game.

"We gave them a really good game," Grayslake North coach Rob Nicoletti said of Grayslake Central. "That's a really good team and they're having a really good year. And I'm proud of the way we competed.

"We held them to 32 points. I really can't ask for much more. It was an incredible defensive effort. We defended without fouling in the second half. And we held them to one shot. We were down five at halftime and finished the third quarter up five and that was a huge difference, the way we defended. But what we were doing so well in the third quarter, we didn't do as much in the fourth and in a tight game, that's going to cost you."

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