Lake Forest rolls; Warren wins
Late in the fourth quarter, with the outcome having been all but officially decided long before that, a Grayslake Central girls slapped at a rebound and swished it right through the basket.
Wrong one.
Caelan Rottman, the last Lake Forest player to touch the ball, got credit for the two points.
She and her teammates didn't need the help.
In a game that figured to be close, not lopsided, Lake Forest cruised to a 61-27 win on Day 4 of the Blue Devil Classic at Warren on Wednesday.
"We've been off for almost four days and didn't come out, didn't get off the bus," Grayslake Central coach Roger Lass said. "It wasn't anything (Lake Forest) did. We did things we normally don't do and let them do whatever they wanted."
Grayslake fell to 3-9, including 0-3 at Warren, after coming into the tournament with a two-game winning streak.
Lake Forest improved to 8-7 and 1-2 at Warren (losses to Deerfield and Wheeling).
"I knew it'd be a tough game," Scouts coach Nick Balaban said. "I know the score didn't reflect it, but that was a good team. We made shots, and that was the best rebounding game we've had this year (41-24 edge)."
Lake Forest scored the game's first 12 points and helped force 9 turnovers in building an 18-2 lead after one quarter. Jean Rebarchak scored 8 of her 9 points in the opening eight minutes.
The Scouts took a 41-6 lead into the locker room, as they helped limit the Rams to 1-of-18 shooting from the field.
"Regardless of what Grayslake Central's record was coming in, they've played some pretty good competition," Balaban said. "I saw them play (before Wednesday) and I was concerned about their zone pressure. They do a nice job with the pressure, but we just had great leadership from (point guard) Kate Affourtit and Jean Rebarchak."
Lake Forest's Julie Collins scored all of her game-high 15 points in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor (three 3-pointers).
The 5-foot-10 senior comes off the bench, as Balaban starts a defensive-oriented lineup that includes Lauren Laduke and Emily Meyer.
"We use them to anchor our defense and then we can bring someone in off the bench like Collins, who has no conscious," Balaban said. "You need that. She's getting better in other areas, too, so when she comes in, she definitely provides a spark for us."
Lake Forest also got 11 points off the bench from Erica Sanderson. while the freshman Rottman grabbed 11 rebounds. Claire Dimario had 7 points and 8 rebounds.
Katelyn Putkonen led Grayslake Central with 11 points.
"Everything we talked about before the game, (Lake Forest) still did," Lass said. "I told them that (Collins) was a good shooter coming off the bench and she still hit (shots). Very frustrating."
Grayslake Central seeks to rebound today with a 3 p.m. game against Palatine.
Lake Forest will take the court immediately afterward for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff against Niles North.
Warren 58, Palatine 40: Sarah Booth was a blocked shot away from a triple-double.
The 6-foot-5 center had 21 points, 15 rebounds and 9 blocks, as the Blue Devils improved to 15-0 and 3-0 in their own tournament.
Lory Shaw added 11 points, 8 boards and 4 assists for Warren, which plays Deerfield at 7:30 p.m. today. The Blue Devils led 18-7 after a quarter.
Palatine got 12 points and 9 rebounds from Kate MacFabe and 10 points from Lauren Orris.
Carmel 55, Niles North 18: The Corsairs limited the Lady Vikings to 5 or fewer points in every quarter, and Tiffany Hendrickson scored 16 points.
Carmel (8-6, 2-1) also got 10 points from Lauren Lehocky. Erin Glogovsky and Aubrey Simmons each added 9 for the Corsairs, who take on Wheeling at 6 p.m. today.
Wheeling 63, Deerfield 40: The Wildcats improved to 3-0 in the tourney, as Ashley Wilson scored 16 points, Janelle Cannon netted 14 and Bianca Szafarowicz chipped in 10.
Dani Ripkey scored 19 points for Deerfield, while Kiley Hierl had 7 points and 16 rebounds.
Today, Wheeling plays Carmel at 6 p.m. and Deerfield faces Warren at 7:30 p.m.