Complete effort helps Meadows top Vernon Hills for Libertyville title
Rolling Meadows' girls basketball team prides itself on playing with energy for 32 minutes.
Vernon Hills had no answer for it Friday afernoon in the championship game of the Libertyville winter tournament, as Rolling Meadows raced to a 60-45 victory.
The Mustangs were led off the bench by Lily Greifenstein with 19 points and Bridget Rolla with 13 points and 7 steals. Susannah Holifield added 11 points.
Vernon Hills' Kayla Caudle had game highs of 24 points and 18 rebounds.
"His teams are going to bring it," Rolling Meadows coach Ryan Kirkorsky said of Vernon Hills coach Paul Brettner. "I told my kids, 'You can make a lot of excuses. It's the fourth game in four days. But it's still 32 minutes.' We just asked them to play hard today."
Rolling Meadows won three games in the tournament and improved its record to 12-5. Vernon Hills suffered its first tournament loss after winning its first three games and dropped to 11-5.
The Mustangs' bench played a key role against the Cougars.
"Our strength this year is that we have depth," Kirkorsky said. "We have a lot of kids that can give us valuable minutes. I think that benefited us all this week."
Rolling Meadows scored the game's first 7 points and led 20-6 after the opening quarter. Rolla came off the bench and provided a spark with a couple of steals, leading to 6 points.
"I think when we're intense, we're a lot better as a team," Rolla said. "We like to push the ball. We all like to bring our own spark to the game. Everyone has their own role. Whether you start or come off the bench, everyone has a way to contribute."
Vernon Hills found itself playing catch-up after spotting the Mustangs an early lead. The Cougars trailed 32-16 at the break but got within 38-29 after Caudle hit a short jump shot with 2:12 left in the third.
But Rolling Meadows picked up its pace and led 43-31 entering the fourth. The Mustangs continued to build the lead in the fourth.
"We talked a lot about the speed of Rolling Meadows," Brettner said. "We saw it. (Rolling Meadows) was fast out there. They're really hard to emulate. We can't do that in a tournament without any practice time. They're so quick and their hands are fantastic. Their work rate is out of this world."