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Sophomore Fisher helps Libertyville power past New Trier

Emily Fisher's best days are ahead of her on the basketball court.

But that's going to be the fun part, watching the Libertyville sophomore guard steadily improve her game over the next two-plus seasons.

Right now, Fisher's game is pretty special. The second-year varsity player is already considered among the best players in Lake County.

Even amid a tough night shooting, Fisher's all-around, two-way game was a key factor in Libertyville's 52-30 victory over New Trier on Monday afternoon.

Fisher scored a game-high 13 points and senior guard Lauren Huber had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Wildcats (3-2).

"The things we did good today were our defense and pushing the ball when we got it because our shots weren't falling," Fisher said.

Sharing the point guard duties with Huber, Fisher bothered the Trevians with her strength, toughness and aggressive attitude on both ends. Meanwhile, Huber had her customary impactful game on both ends, even if her shot wasn't falling.

With the game tied at 9-9, the Wildcats reeled off a 17-5 run to take command of the nonconference game. Libertyville took advantage of the Trevians (0-1) playing their first game of the season, pushing the pace and beating them down the court for numerous layups.

Huber and Fisher led numerous fast breaks with defensive rebounds and pushing the tempo. Fisher also followed the lead of Huber, relying on her defense to make a difference in the game. The Wildcats only made two 3-pointers, both by Morgan Spaulding.

"We didn't press at all today and needed to win the game with our half-court defense," Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. "Emily has made a dramatic improvement in a span of a week in terms of possession to possessions in terms of defensive effort and energy and active hands and hands up against shooters and moving her feet.

"I have to give her credit because we've been challenging her. She just brought it today."

Fisher, who has offers from Nebraska, Iowa State, DePaul, North Carolina State, St. Louis, Drake and Milwaukee, scored two consecutive baskets early in Libertyville's game-turning first-half run. She scored on a power move drive to the basket, then on a spin move in the lane.

Fisher, a 6-foot guard with inside-outside skills, said she's attempting to playing point guard with Huber.

"Me and Lauren work well together, and when we get going, we're hard to stop," Fisher said. "It's a different team this year, but we're doing good. My role has changed. I've been doing good so far."

"We got quality minutes off the bench from Sarah Larson, and to the free-throw line," Pedersen said. "Annamese Chudy gave us great senior guard leadership."

New Trier coach Teri Becker, a Libertyville graduate who played at Duke, said her team will improve, but suffered through the normal first-game nerves. Abby Ryan led the Trevians with 8 points.

"We gave up a lot of second-chance points," Becker said. "We didn't do a good job of getting back on defense well enough. That hurt. They took advantage of it."

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