Green's a fourth-quarter machine

The sign on the wall near Warren's student section read in part, "Green serves up da rock."

In most games, that perfectly describes the primary role of senior point guard Joree Green. Fortunately for Warren against visiting Lake Zurich on Tuesday, she proved she shoot the ball as well.

Green scored all 12 of her career-high points in the fourth quarter to help Warren hold off Lake Zurich 36-31 and remain perfect in the North Suburban Lake Division. Green scored 12 of Warren's final 13 points.

Her first 3-pointer tied the score at 26-26 with 3:27 remaining. Her next 3-pointer gave Warren a 30-26 advantage. She was fouled three times in the final two minutes and made all six of her foul shots.

"We were only up by a few so there was a lot of pressure," Green said. "I always focus when we work on free throws each day in practice."

Lake Zurich (14-5, 4-2) cut its deficit to 32-29 when senior Peggie Parhas hit a 3-pointer. Green responded by making a pair of free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining to give Warren (17-1, 7-0) a 5-point advantage.

"When their guards make shots like that, they're a tough team to beat," Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said.

Lake Zurich's sagging man-to-man defense frustrated Warren's 6-foot-5 Sarah Boothe.

The Stanford-bound center was limited to 6 points to go along with her 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. It was Boothe's lowest offensive output since she scored 6 points in the third game of her sophomore year. Lake Zurich junior Lydia Bauer was Boothe's primary defender.

Boothe's previous low this season was 14 points.

"Lydia gives up six inches, but she plays her as tough as anybody," Bennett said. "She did a great job of fronting and denying her the ball."

Lake Zurich came out fast, scoring the game's first six points and leading 15-10 at the end of the first quarter. Most of Lake Zurich's points came on fastbreaks and layups.

The next two quarters were a different story. After senior Kelsey Karmell scored at the 7:30 mark, Warren did not allow a point the rest of the half. Lake Zurich's drought extended until the 4:07 mark of the third quarter when Parhas made a shot.

"We called a timeout early in the second quarter to emphasize getting back on defense," Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz said. "You can't ask for more than holding (Lake Zurich) to 2 points in the second quarter."

Parhas and Bauer each scored 9 points. Junior Olivia Allen had 6 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears.

"She was our toughest matchup with her combination of size and athleticism," Stanczykiewicz said.

Warren seniors Lory Shaw and Shana Shepherd had 9 and 8 points, respectively. This was the Blue Devils' first game since Dec. 28.

"It's nice to win when you're not playing your best against a quality team," Stanczykiewicz said. "They pushed us to the edge."

-- Bob Gosman

Wauconda 57, Vernon Hills 40: Wauconda finally got back in the winning column.

Lauren Mead scored a game-high 13 points to lead the Bulldogs in North Suburban Prairie Division action.

The win snapped a six-game losing streak for Wauconda (7-8, 4-2), which had not won since Dec. 15.

Courtney Kimes and Kate Martino added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs, who led 25-9 after the first quarter. Amanda Gertz added 9.

Wauconda was coming off a 61-57 NSC crossover loss to Zion-Benton last Saturday. Mead had a career-high 29 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Vernon Hills (7-12, 3-4) -- which lost to Wauconda 59-54 earlier this season -- received 12 points from Amy Burton.

Grant 61, Antioch 32: Jamie Swanson scored 22 points, hitting three 3-pointers, as the Bulldogs stayed undefeated in the North Suburban Prairie Division.

Tori Ziegler added 12 and Autumn Gaylor chipped in 10 for Grant (16-2, 6-0), which led 21-8 after one quarter and never looked back.

Grant will visit Round Lake on Thursday night in a first-place showdown.

Antioch (8-9, 3-4) received 9 points from Brittany Deem.

Round Lake 65, N. Chicago 58 (OT): Amber Phillips scored a career-high 26 points, as the Panthers prevailed in overtime at North Chicago.

Phillips, a junior forward and three-year varsity player, had 10 field goals and was 6 of 10 from the foul line.

Corrine Conrad added 12 for Round Lake (15-2), which improved to 5-1 in the North Suburban Prairie Division and will host Grant on Thursday night in a battle for first place.

Tatiana Webb had 23 points for North Chicago, which was outscored 11-4 in OT.

Johnsburg 70, Grayslake C. 49: Sophomore guard Megan Lopez scored 13 points to lead four players in double figures, as the Skyhawks won the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game.

Johnsburg also received 12 points from Michelle McDonald, 11 from Melissa Dixon and 10 from Rebecca Staveteig. Anne Hinley had 9.

Grayslake Central (4-12, 0-1) was led by Laura Stark's 13 points. The junior sank three 3-pointers and scored 11 of her points in the fourth quarter.

Lake Forest 52, Libertyville 43: Claire Dimario had 14 points and Julie Collins added 11 for the Scouts in the North Suburban Lake Division game.

Ali Haws had 17 points for Libertyville (9-10, 1-5).

Grayslake N. 39, Huntley 34: The host Knights pulled out the Fox Valley Fox Division opener, as Hilary Kuhl scored 8 of her 12 points and grabbed 8 of her 9 rebounds in the pivotal second half.

Grayslake North (8-8) also received 6 points apiece from Ali Vlahos and Lauren Erickson.

Women's basketball

CLC 58, Prairie State 52: Tiffany Lehner made baskets on four straight possessions late in the game, as the Lancers pulled out the win.

Alyssa Wilson hit a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch for College of Lake County (9-3).

Lehner finished with 29 points and 9 rebounds, while Kelli Goodwin added 10 points.