Central teams up for victory over Grayslake North

If all eyes were on Amanda Larson, considering the Grayslake Central senior dropped 35 points on Grayslake North the last time the rivals met, how many pairs were locked on a blond Gosell?

It's a dizzying task, for sure, for Grayslake Central opponents.

Fortunately for Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn, he can tell the difference between Rams junior identical twins Jordyn and Payton Gosell.

Saturday night, while Larson "settled" for scoring 13 points, while dishing out 7 assists, both Gosells had active nights as well in helping the Rams beat the visiting Knights 48-37 in Northern Lake County Conference action.

To make things more confusing - if not for Grayslake North, than at least for fans - Payton Gosell was wearing a new jersey number (No. 1). Jordyn sports No. 10.

"(Payton) was wearing one (No. 34) that didn't fit all that well," Ikenn said. "We finally got a new one, and we gave her the new one.

"Now you can keep it," Ikenn added with a laugh, turning to look at Payton.

"I'll keep the white (jersey, No. 1)," Payton said.

Grayslake Central (19-7, 12-1) has played well wearing either its white or green uniforms this season. With one NLCC game left, the Rams remain tied for first place with Antioch. Grayslake Central, which hosts Zion-Benton in a nonconference game on Monday, will play Wauconda at home on Wednesday. That same night, Antioch will visit Grayslake North.

"Coming into a new conference, I feel (winning) it would be a really big deal for us," Larson said.

Grayslake North (15-10, 9-4) looked to play spoiler against the Rams and enjoyed a 13-9 lead late in the opening quarter, as Abby Fish scored 8 of her 9 points.

"I liked the way we started the game," Knights coach Rob Nicoletti said. "The first quarter we played with lots of energy, lots of intensity. The second quarter we just got a little sloppy. Central hung in there. They're a good team. It's tough to knock them out early on."

Larson finished a pair of drives, including a three-point play, in the first quarter. But the 5-foot-9 guard also looked to distribute the ball. Her pass to 6-foot freshman Kate Bullman resulted in a layup that knotted the score at 13-13.

Larson had 4 assists in the opening quarter.

"That's the thing that a lot of people don't realize about her," Ikenn said. "She's takes as much pride in making those passes as she does making shots."

Larson insisted she was just doing her thing.

"I feel my main goal is to get everyone else the ball," Larson said. "If they're 'on,' you give them the ball. ... I approached (this game) the same. I was expecting some hard defense, just the usual. I did what I did. I got it to my teammates. We worked the ball really well."

After Larson's career-best scoring effort against the Knights last month, the visitors tried to pick her up at half-court and not let her get into the flow of the offense.

"Anytime someone puts 35 on you, you want to make sure it doesn't happen again," Nicoletti said. "We did a better job against her, but she still got her points."

Grayslake Central picked up its defense after the opening quarter, outscoring the Knights 12-4 in the second. Up 10 late in the third, the Rams got back-to-back 3-pointers from the Gosell twins to stretch their to 41-25 entering the fourth. Jordyn's 3 beat the buzzer.

It was the only basket for either twin. Each of them also had a couple of steals, and it's that style of play that they share besides their physical features.

"They play with such energy," Ikenn said. "They do all the little things in terms of hustle plays and defense. You got to love coaching kids like that. That's what I love about this team."

Lindsay Brust added 12 points and 7 rebounds for Grayslake Central. Bullman had 9 points and 7 boards.

Savannah Guenther had 8 of her team-high 11 points in the fourth for Grayslake North, which trailed by as many as 21 points in the final quarter. Sidney Lovitsch finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.