Zobel, confident Lake Zurich top Libertyville
A double-digit loss to Rock Island didn't cause Lake Zurich's girls basketball team to hit rock bottom.
The Bears were feeling good after an inspired effort against the state power last Wednesday night. They were within 6 points with two minutes left in their Turkey Thriller finale.
"We played really well," Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said of the 52-40 loss. "The kids got some confidence off that, and I think you saw that tonight."
McKenna Zobel scored 9 of her 13 points in the opening quarter, as Lake Zurich's confident bunch bolted to an early lead in its North Suburban Conference opener against visiting Libertyville on Tuesday night, and the Bears pulled away for a 54-36 win.
Maddy Piggott scored a game-high 14 points for Lake Zurich (3-3), which knocked off a young Libertyville team that won three games in the Buffalo Grove tournament.
"They're very young, but they're fast, and they can shoot the ball," Zobel said of the Wildcats. "We came out ready to guard their shooters, and we did what we were supposed to do."
Lake Zurich played a triangular-and-two defense with man to man mixed in to help limit Libertyville shooters Lydia Crow and Margaret Buchert.
Crow, who started on varsity as a freshman last season, was guarded by Anna Biergans most of the night. She finished with 8 points (two 3-pointers), five of them coming in the latter stages of the fourth quarter. Buchert, who was shaded by fellow sophomore Ella Gilbertson, attempted only 2 shots and did not score.
"Crow is obviously a great shooter, and (No.) 32, that sophomore (Buchert) is a heck of a shooter too," Bennett said. "Our whole goal was to try to take those two out of the game as best as we could and take our chances."
Libertyville (3-3) boasted legitimate post players the last three seasons with Claire Keefe (DePauw) and Caroline Frea. Without the two graduated 6-footers, the Wildcats have a much smaller lineup.
Lake Zurich's starting lineup included the 6-1 Zobel and 6-foot Gilbertson. The junior Piggott and senior point guard Grace Kinsey - who recently committed to DePauw - are both listed at 5-10.
"It's a matchup for us that we knew would be tough," Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. "Their experience and their strength are two things that we're going to struggle with against this year. We're going to have to get better at dealing with those things."
Zobel started hot, scoring inside three times and hitting a 3-pointer in the opening quarter, as Lake Zurich built a 16-7 lead. Piggott's pair of buckets helped the hosts take a 26-16 lead into halftime. Gilbertson (9 points) hit the first of her two 3-pointers in the third quarter, as the Bears stretched their advantage to 37-23 entering the fourth.
"We did the same defense that we did against Rock Island," Zobel said after shooting 6 of 9. "We helped a little bit less during this game. (The Rock Island game) helped us do better this game."
Freshman guard Lauren Huber led Libertyville with 12 points, including a 3-pointer, on 5-of-6 shooting. Four of her 5 rebounds were on the offensive glass.
"We like her to be aggressive," Pedersen said. "She's a very selfless kid. Most timeouts are spent telling her, 'You should probably attack the basket more.' She wants to involve her teammates so much, but I think we'll be a better team when she has a little bit more of a selfish approach."