Szmajda's double-doubles lead Wauconda to 2 wins
Kiley Szmajda posted a pair of double-doubles, and Wauconda's girls basketball team opened the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic by winning twice at McHenry on Saturday.
The Bulldogs started the day by beating Hoffman Estates 60-42, as Szmajda registered a career-high 25 points (two 3-pointers), 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Morgan Lung had her first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and added 5 assists. Wauconda's other contributors included Mackenzie Arden (8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks), Jessie Pakaski (6 points, 9 rebounds) and Ella Karg (6 points, 5 assists).
"It was a great bounce-back after (Friday) night's loss," said coach Jaime Dennis, whose Bulldogs were coming off a 71-57 loss to Grayslake Central. "The girls came out with energy and determination against Hoffman Estates. Kiley had a huge game for us on the offensive end. Morgan was solid on both ends. She was really a defensive presence on the inside. After a slight defensive lapse in the second (quarter), we came out strong in the third and continued to pull away."
Wauconda then beat Crystal Lake South 51-36 to improve to 7-3, as Szmajda had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Arden scored a team-high 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Karg collected 7 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. The Bulldogs led 15-3 after one quarter, 24-9 at halftime and 47-25 after three.
"We probably had our best defensive half of the year in the first half," Dennis said. "It was a great day with two solid wins."
Wauconda closes out pool play on Monday with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff against Johnsburg at McHenry.
Grayslake North wins twice: At Richmond-Burton, the Knights opened the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic by picking up a pair of wins, 54-52 over Richmond-Burton in overtime and 44-40 over Prairie Ridge, extending their winning streak to five games.
Faith Standerski had 15 points in the opener against Richmond-Burton. Meghan Leahy and Peyton Gerdes added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Standerski led Grayslake North (6-6) in scoring again against Prairie Ridge, tossing in 15 points. Gerdes and Leahy each had 12. Standerski, Leahy and Eden Hartigan hit clutch free throws to close out the come-from-behind victory.
"The girls showed great mental toughness by winning their third game within 24 hours," said coach Roger Lass, whose Knights beat Antioch in Northern Lake County Conference action on Friday night. "Everyone is contributing and we're really starting to come together as a team lately, and it's showing up in our results. I'm so proud of how we didn't cave in after starting 1-6 to where we are now at 6-6."
Grayslake North will next play DeKalb at 5 p.m. Monday at Richmond-Burton.
Lakes loses twice: At McHenry, the Eagles opened the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic by losing to Marengo 52-32 and McHenry 62-26.
Rosie Tekampe led Lakes with 12 points against Marengo, while Kendall Phelan and Grace Sullivan added 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Lakes led McHenry 14-9 after one quarter, as Sydney Zellmann, Sullivan and Addilyn Stephens hit 3-pointers. But the Eagles got outscored 53-12 the rest of the way, including 19-8 in the second quarter and 19-2 in the third.
Zellmann led the Eagles with 6 points on a pair of 3s. Phelan had 5 points.
"We started out really well again," Lakes coach Brian Phelan said. "We need to string together more quarters like we did to start."
Lakes resumes the tournament with a 5 p.m. tipoff Monday against Belvidere at McHenry.
Round Lake loses twice: At Richmond-Burton, the Panthers dropped their first two games in the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, 28-19 to Marian Central and 48-37 to Crystal Lake Central.
Lilli Burton scored a team-high 8 points for Round Lake against Marian Central. Jailyn Drane had 13 points in the loss to Crystal Lake Central, as the Panthers fell to 1-11.
Round Lake plays Woodstock North at 5 p.m. Monday at Richmond-Burton.