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Grayslake Central rolls to victory

By first quarter's end, Grayslake Central center Rebekah Llorens was on pace for 48 points and 28 rebounds.

And 8 fouls.

Of course, referees would have stopped her at five.

“Frankly, I thought I had gotten out of that habit,” Llorens said with a sheepish smile. “I did have a spree of 3-4 games in a row where I was ringing up several fouls. Thankfully, I recovered from that.”

Llorens could laugh about picking up her team's only fouls in the first half of Tuesday night's Class 3A sectional semifinal against Gordon Tech at Grayslake Central because, well, she did recover and so did the host school.

Grayslake Central's Ram routed Gordon Tech's Rams 75-25 to advance to Thursday's 7:30 p.m. sectional final against Johnsburg (22-11), a 52-51 winner over Wauconda in the evening's second semifinal. Llorens finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, despite logging fewer than 11 minutes of playing-time.

After picking up her third foul — and team's third of the game — with 3:46 left in the third quarter, she went to the bench and did not return.

There was no sense putting her back in since Grayslake Central (27-3) had extended a 41-9 halftime advantage to 54-11.

The home squad was in control from the start, scoring the game's first 12 points, with Skyler Jessop (14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) sinking back-to-back 3-pointers.

Roxy Acoff added 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench. Alex Scarbro (4 rebounds) and Kat Dickson (5 rebounds) chipped in 7 and 5 points, respectively, and 2 steals apiece.

A dozen Grayslake Central Rams scored at least 2 points.

“It was a good opportunity to run through our offense and defense, as well as get playing time for everybody,” said Llorens, who had 12 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter and finished 8 of 8 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line. “We didn't know what to expect (from Gordon Tech). We didn't necessarily come in knowing it would be a game like this, especially since in the postseason you can't take anything for granted.”

Maddy Miller's long 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer had the hosts up 29-7.

Miller took a pass from Jessop near the top of the key and, with the final seconds ticking off, launched a shot from well beyond the arc on the wing and rolled it in.

“It wasn't really a play,” Miller said. “She just threw me the ball, I got open and I just shot it.

“Either it was going to be an air ball or it was going to go in. I was hoping it was going to go in.”

Miller had missed her first 5 shots.

“I told her, ‘Maddie, the next time you have a layup, just back up to half-court,' ” Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn said with a laugh.

Up 62-15 after three quarters, Grayslake Central was able to clear its bench. Emma Shepard sank a 3-pointer and scored 4 points, and smiling Meghan Guilfoyle got a late basket, much to the delight of her teammates and Grayslake Central's fans.

“Everybody loves Meghan,” Ikenn said. “She's got that great disposition and that big smile on her face all the time.”

Jenny Carroll scored 10 points for Gordon Tech (14-17), while Melanie Claudio had 6 points and 6 rebounds.

Images: Chicago Gordon Tech at Grayslake Central girls basketball

  Grayslake Central’s Claire Brennan and Gordon Tech’s Samantha Martinez battle for a loose ball during their sectional semifinal game Tuesday night at Grayslake Central. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Grayslake Central’s Alex Scarbro drives past Gordon Tech’s Samantha Martinez battle for a loose ball during their sectional semifinal game Tuesday night at Grayslake Central High School. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Grayslake Central’s Skyler Jessop drives past Gordon Tech’s Melanie Claudio during their sectional semifinal game Tuesday night at Grayslake Central High School. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Grayslake Central’s Rebekah Llorens gets high fives from the bench during their sectional semifinal game against Gordon Tech Tuesday night at Grayslake Central High School. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Grayslake Central’s Maddy Miller drives on Gordon Tech’s Samantha Martinez battle for a loose ball during their sectional semifinal game Tuesday night at Grayslake Central High School. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Grayslake Central’s Beth Arnold and Gordon Tech’s Melanie Claudio battle for a loose ball during their sectional semifinal game Tuesday night at Grayslake Central High School. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com