Lake Zurich finishes strong, wins regional title
Maddy Piggott was 9 years old. Her Lake Zurich teammate, McKenna Zobel, was a year older at 10.
Yep, that was the last time their school had claimed a regional crown in girls basketball.
But on Friday night at Grayslake North, Lake Zurich met Lake Forest with a Class 4A regional title at stake.
As usual in these games, the Scouts got off to a good start as Audrey Kaus and Halle Douglass opened up the action with back-to-back 3s. And while it's quite clear Douglass did not call bank when her three caromed off the board and through the hoop, the Scouts' quick lead was 8-3.
A high-scoring first quarter settled down quickly. Both teams scored 4 points in the second quarter.
Lake Zurich hit its last 8 free throws and won the matchup 42-31. The Bears will see Stevenson for a third time this season in the Fremd sectional on Monday.
Lake Zurich will take an 18-10 mark to the next phase of the state playoffs.
"We've won eight out of our last nine,'' said Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett. "All three games with Lake Forest, they jumped out in front. We just had to weather the storm. Lake Forest has so many weapons."'
So what's going on with Bears in the last nine games? The one loss was a one-sided affair to state power Maine West.
"That was our senior night,'' Zobel said. "We decided that night that we didn't want to feel like that again. We wanted to make sure we won our next three games."
Zobel led all scorers with 17 points. She hit all 4 of her free throws in the final minute as the Bears pulled away. Piggott (12 points) added two more for the final points on the night.
"We had a competition in practice,'' Piggott said. "Whoever can make their free throws."'
"We will make those free throws,'' Zobel added.
Lake Zurich erased Lake Forest's fast start with some 3-pointers of its own. Ella Gilbertson and Margueret Spear did the honors. Spear gave the Bears good minutes off the bench and finished with 5 points.
Lake Zurich extended the lead into the second quarter. Zobel scored inside and point guard Grace Kinsey got the hoop as the Bears opened an 18-12 advantage. Lake Zurich's halftime lead was just 18-16.
Lake Forest (22-8) had a strong second half from 6-foot-1 junior Ellie Pearson. She finished with 16 points.
On a tough 10-footer from Zobel, the Bears' lead was 25-19 near the end of the third quarter. On a 3-point play from Pearson, the Bears' edge was down to a single basket at 28-26, halfway through the final quarter. However, both Zobel and Piggott scored for the Bears.
"When we defend like we can, we can play with anyone,'' Zobel added.
Beginning with the two Spear shots, the Bears completed the game making 8 straight free throws.