Mundelein entertains its fans, edges LZ

The acrobatic Chicago Sky mascot and his two jump-roping tumbling partners made for good halftime entertainment.

The trio was nearly as entertaining as the girls basketball game.

For the second time this season, Lake Zurich and Mundelein played a game that wasn't decided until the final possession. Host Mundelein prevailed, avenging its one-point loss in December with a 51-48 win.

Mundelein improved to 17-5 overall and 4-3 in the North Suburban Lake Division, while Lake Zurich fell to 15-6 and 5-3.

Lake Zurich played its second straight game without star Lydia Bauer. The 6-foot junior suffered a separated shoulder in practice last Thursday and sees her doctor again this Thursday to be further evaluated, coach Chris Bennett said.

"She did the same thing (last) summer and she was out two weeks," Bennett said. "I don't if it's the (same) case or not."

Lake Zurich defeated Zion-Benton last Saturday night and was competitive again without Bauer. In fact, the Bears had an 11-point lead on Mundelein with three minutes gone in the third quarter.

About two minutes before that, Bears guard Gabby Chapa, who led all scorers with 16 points, drained her fourth 3-pointer of the game to extend Lake Zurich's lead to 34-24.

That's when Mustangs coach Brian Evans called timeout.

"Which I don't normally do, because I like to save them up and go to the timeout bank and cash them in," Evans said. "I called time and just asked my team, 'How many more (3s) are we going to give (Chapa)?' Toni Knar was the only person who said none.

"I said, 'That's the problem right now. We have one person who's willing to step up and say none.' "

Evans then made a strategic move.

"I said, 'No more switching screens. You have to fight through screens. You have to stay on your own girl,' " he explained.

Chapa didn't score again. Meanwhile, Knar helped spark an 18-4 run that Ally Hanas capped with a 3 in the closing seconds of the third to put the Mustangs up 44-41.

Knar scored 6 of her 8 points in the third, and J.J. Sawchuk had 4 of her team-high 13 points, as Mundelein outscored Lake Zurich 24-13 in the quarter. The Mustangs scored four baskets off in-bounds plays.

"If you give up 24 points to anybody in a quarter, you're not going to have a chance to win," Bennett said. "Mundelein made plays and came after us in the third quarter."

Lake Zurich scored the first seven points of the fourth, with Coryn Schmit's basket with 3:50 left giving the Bears a 48-44 edge. But the visitors didn't score again.

Sawchuk's baseline basket snapped a 48-48 tie with 56 seconds left, and Olivia Dunigan (9 points, 6 rebounds) hit a free throw to provide the final margin.

Olivia Allen's 3-point try just before the buzzer hit the back of the rim. Allen and Peggie Parhas (three 3s) had 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Bears.

"We've said all year long we've got a whole bunch of players that can play," Bennett said. "Kelsey Karmell started on Saturday and did a really nice job, and Jess (Cacioppo) started tonight and did a real nice job. When you get injuries, kids got to step up, and we've had kids step up."

Warren 46, Zion-Benton 25: Sarah Boothe had 23 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 3 steals, and the Blue Devils dominated defensively in the North Suburban Lake Division game.

Boothe is now 6 points shy of 1,800 in her career and 33 rebounds away from 1,000.

Shana Shepherd added 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for Warren (19-1, 9-0).

Brittany Simmons had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals for Zion-Benton.

Antioch 46, Wauconda 35: Andi Potkonjak and Christine Gaborek had 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the host Sequoits in the North Suburban Prairie Division game.

Antioch (9-11, 4-5), which snapped a three-game losing streak, committed a season-low 14 turnovers. Brittany Deem contributed 7 points and 8 rebounds. Gaborek and Martha Arntson each grabbed 6 rebounds, while Katie Budd and Potkonjak each dished out 3 assists.

Lauren Mead paced Wauconda (8-10, 4-4) with 12 points.

Round Lake 59, Waukegan 42 The visiting Panthers picked up a quality win in nonconference action, jumping out to a 20-5 lead after one quarter and never looking back.

Round Lake (17-3) got double-digit points from Labrenthia Murdock (15), Brittany Kucia (13, four 3-pointers) and Amber Phillips (10).

Waukegan received 14 points from Brittany Brown and 13 from Danasha Jenkins. Bianca Jarrett, who played sparingly, had 7 points.

Boys basketball

Grant 74, Johnsburg 64: Mike Shields had 28 points and Marc Grischeau added 21 for the host Bulldogs (12-6) in the nonconference game.

Johnsburg (7-9) was led by sophomores Mike Dixon (25 points) and C.J. Fiedorowicz (23).

Lakes 57, Grayslake N. 41: Trey Williams scored 20 points, as the Eagles won the nonconference game for their 12th straight win.

Kevin Guirand added 13 points for Lakes (13-4), which led 12-6 after one quarter and 34-19 at halftime. The Eagles pushed the lead to 27 points in the third quarter.

Rollin Idlas led Grayslake North (4-10) with 13 points.