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Libertyville cools off Lake Zurich

Libertyville had been warned. The home team was hot. Lake Zurich had knocked off Stevenson and Zion-Benton most recently and posed a threat to the Wildcats as they visited on Friday night.

"We knew that Lake Zurich was at full strength,'' said Libertyville guard, Margaret Buchert.

Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett compared it to a prize fight. His Bears never led in the first half but caught the Wildcats in the second half. On an Ella Gilbertson drive, the Lake Zurich lead was 33-30 early in the fourth quarter.

At one point in the final quarter, the Wildcats hit 6 straight free throws. Libertyville escaped 41-37 in a key North Suburban Conference girls basketball matchup.

The second half hero for the Cats was the sophomore Lauren Huber. She had no points in the first half and 11 in the second half.

"We came out with high energy and came back when it counted,'' Huber said. "We had key plays and free throws at the end."

Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen had a compliment for the Bears.

"They played really good defense,'' Pedersen said.

Bennett also applauded his opponent.

"Libertyville keeps coming at you,'' he said. "You might be able to stop one but someone else steps up for them."

The Wildcats (18-7, 9-3) relied on the 3-point shot to open an 18-11 lead in the second quarter. Lydia Crow (5 points) had her team's first one and Abigail Frea joined the parade. Morgan Spaulding beat the halftime buzzer with another trey. Still the halftime lead was just 21-17.

Buchert (12 points) felt her team was ready for this battle.

"This was so fun,'' she said. "Our bench was so excited. They got us ready."

The Wildcats' third quarter lead was 29-26. Huber had 5 of the 8 points and the other 3 came on an old fashioned 3-point play by Maddie Spaulding (7 points).

Margueret Spear (10 points) began to heat up for the Bears. Her 3-pointer pulled the Bears within 23-22.

"Spear has really had a good second half,'' Bennett added.

Gilbertson (10 points) closed the game with 6 straight points for Lake Zurich. Maddy Piggott played a strong floor game for the Bears (14-14, 8-5) and added 9 points. Lake Zurich had won 6 of 7 entering this contest.

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