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Warren wins defensive battle with Grayslake Central

It was more of a defensive battle than either team expected - but then again, exactly the kind of game that tends to be played when postseason survival is at stake for a pair of teams with impressive pedigrees.

Warren was the North Suburban Conference's girls basketball champion, while Grayslake Central shared the Northern Lake County Conference title with Grant.

Top-seeded Warren showed its defensive ability and got past upset-minded fifth seed Grayslake Central 31-21 in a Class 4A sectional semifinal match up at Fremd High School in Palatine on Monday night.

The Blue Devils (25-6) earned another meeting with NSC rival Lake Zurich (19-10), the No. 7 seed, in a sectional final at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Bears raced past sixth-seeded Stevenson 54-38 in the other semifinal.

Jordyn Hughes led the Blue Devils with 19 points and Kaylen Dickson added 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

"I'm really proud of our girls," Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz said. "I thought we played a pretty strong game defensively, and we held them scoreless in the second quarter. But it was a good team effort. I thought we played well enough in stretches to get the win. (Grayslake Central) was a good basketball team. Steve (Ikenn) does a great job preparing his kids to play against what you do. It's one more game, and you survive and advance."

Warren, too, can take pride in its defensive stance against Grayslake Central (23-8). The Blue Devils' effort was effective for the entire game.

"I think defense makes all the difference at this time of year," said Stanczykiewicz, "because you're going to go through stretches where you're going to have a hard time scoring. Either you're not shooting well - or the other team has something to do with that. This time of year everyone is well-prepared to play against you. There's no secrets about who we are. You have to rest the fact that you can get stops at crucial times of the game, or you're going to lose."

Warren jumped out to a 7-0 advantage before Grayslake Central closed within 7-5 by the end of the first quarter.

But the Blue Devils held the Rams scoreless for the entire second quarter, during which Hughes dropped in a couple of long-range 3s and Breleigh Gula added 4 points off the bench. That gave Warren a 17-5 lead at the half.

"I was really unguarded, so I was able to sneak in and get some tips on the rebounds," Gula said. "I was ultimately able to put them back up."

Grayslake Central came out with better intensity in the second half. Kate Bullman scored 4 of her 7 points in a 9-2 run and cut the lead to 19-14 with 2:25 left.

"We feed off each others' energy," Bullman said. "I thought we carried that through this game. Our defense was doing so well, and it transferred to our offense."

But Hughes lifted the Blue Devils with 5 straight points, on a putback and another 3. Warren held a 2-14 lead going into the final quarter.

In the final quarter, the Rams made one last push by producing full-court pressure that caused several turnovers. Jordyn Gosell scored 5 of her 7 points, including a key 3 which made it 26-21 with 1:46 left.

But Hughes stepped up at the free throw line, making 5 of her 6 attempts.

"I was walking up there, thinking about how I'd missed last time against Grayslake Central," Hughes said. "This was my time for a little redemption. I didn't want that to happen again. I wanted to seal the game."

Grayslake Central ends a terrific season which included its first Class 4A regional title last week. And the Rams can take pride in holding a potent Warren team to limited offensive output.

"I thought both teams had great defense, we just couldn't get a shot to fall," Ikenn said. "You got to give (Warren's) defense credit, they made every shot difficult. I thought we did the same, but they were able to finish more than we were.

"We had a great season - won a regional, and that's a special season. We've got a great group of kids."

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