Bullman's 31, Fitzgerald's 'D' lift Grayslake Central in OT
Grayslake Central forward Kate Bullman is going to get her points.
And the 6-foot-2 junior did on Wednesday.
A career-high 31, to be exact.
But it was senior point guard Maura Fitzgerald who might have had the biggest hand in preserving the Rams' 50-49, overtime win over Carmel Catholic in the second round of the Warren Blue Devil Classic in Gurnee.
Bullman canned a pair of free throws to give the Rams a 50-49 lead with 23 ticks left in overtime. Then it was Fitzgerald who stepped intercepted a Corsairs pass, dribbled and ran out the clock.
"It makes it easy for me because we have such a good defense," Fitzgerald said. "Kate (Bullman) pressured the ball at the end, and I saw the angle and stepped in front of it."
Fitzgerald's play helped Grayslake Central improve to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the tournament with its seventh win in a row.
"She's our coach on the floor and moves the ball around well," Rams coach Steve Ikenn said. "She has great hands and saw that angle at the end (for the steal)."
Grayslake Central held as much as a 29-20 lead with 3:50 left in the third. But Carmel wasn't going anywhere.
"The effort was there. We just didn't have a few things go our way at the end," said coach Ben Berg, whose Corsairs slipped to 5-8 and 0-2 in the event. "We just need to keep bringing the energy and execute."
The Corsairs drew even twice in the fourth, with the second time coming when Katie Lach made a layup to tie things at 40-40 with 1:35 left in regulation.
After a Grayslake Central timeout, Carmel's defense stood tall as the Rams couldn't get a shot off before the horn sounded.
"We were a little sluggish in the first half, but we slowed down the pace on defense and get some better possessions," Berg said. "This one could have gone either way."
Bullman had the hot hand in the OT session, canning a pair of treys to go along with a pair of free throws. She scored 9 points in the first frame when the Rams jumped to a 17-6 lead.
Bullman sank five 3-pointer in the game.
"That's a good team (Carmel)," Ikenn said. "They hit their shots and forced us into some turnovers, and we panicked a little."
Lach led Carmel with a team-high 17 points. Senior guard Caitlin Teehan and senior forward Brigit Barr added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Carmel opened the second quarter with a 12-2 run, and Lach's bucket got the Corsairs within 19-18 with 1:36 left in the half. But Bullman hit a layup and 3-pointer to create a little distance, as the Rams held a 24-18 lead at halftime.
Senior guard Rosie Drevline complemented Bullman with 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.