Lake Zurich 58, Maine South 49

After her basketball team had just won its third game in less than 26 hours, Olivia Allen essentially likened herself to a zombie.

"I'm like a walking dead person," Lake Zurich's junior said.

You sure wouldn't have known it watching Allen play.

She looked exceptionally alive in leading the Bears to a 58-49 win over Maine South on Saturday night in a Sweet 16 tournament game at Lake Zurich.

Allen torched the nets for a career-high 26 points, scoring on a variety of jumpers, post-ups and in-tight shots. The 5-foot-8 guard made all 9 of her shots from the floor (including a pair of 3-pointers) and went 6 of 10 from the foul line.

She was at a loss to explain her near-perfect shooting.

"I just shot," Allen said. "I don't know. I usually don't shoot as much as I did tonight."

Lake Zurich (18-8) was one of six teams in the 18-team field to finish 4-1 in the tournament. After defeating Grant 68-53 on Friday night, the Bears played one of the two 8:30 a.m. games Saturday and beat Naperville Central 41-24.

The three-game sweep came after Lake Zurich had lost its three previous games.

The Bears are 4-3 since losing star Lydia Bauer to season-ending shoulder surgery. The team's best defender was also averaging 12.5 points per game.

"We're starting to figure out our new roles with Lydia out, especially at the defensive end," coach Chris Bennett said. "We have to defend a little bit differently than we did with her in there. We're slowly figuring that out."

Lake Zurich outscored Maine South 20-6 in the second quarter, hitting 6 of 7 shots, to lead 33-20 at halftime. Allen had 14 points at the break, hitting a 3 in each quarter.

The Bears survived an 8-0 run by Maine South to start the third quarter to take a 47-33 edge into the fourth. But they couldn't shake the Hawks, who were led by Jackie Rieger's 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Up 50-40 with 2:55 to go after Allen hit a free throw, Lake Zurich saw Maine South get within 51-47 with 1:36 left. But Peggie Parhas went 4 of 4 from the line in the final 1:13, and Allen sank 3 of 4 shots from the stripe.

Audrey Bauer also scored in double figures for Lake Zurich, as she had 12. Parhas finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds. Jessica Cacioppo grabbed 6 boards.

So how did the Bears muster up the energy to defeat Maine South?

A late breakfast at a restaurant helped.

"Pancakes boosted us up this morning," Allen said with a grin.

Lake Zurich 41, Naperville Central 24: Peggie Parhas sank two 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Bears in their first of two games at Lake Zurich.

Olivia Allen added 8 for Lake Zurich, which trailed 9-5 after one quarter but outscored the Redhawks 15-5 in the second quarter and 18-4 in the third.

Hinsdale Central 52, Stevenson 33: At Lake Zurich, the Red Devils, ranked No. 2 in the Daily Herald Top 20, snapped the Patriots' six-game winning streak.

Hinsdale Central jumped out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

Caitlin Morrissey had 11 points for Stevenson (10-16).

Antioch 47, Belvidere N. 28: Andi Potkonjak led a balanced attack for the visiting Sequoits in the nonconference game.

Potkonjak scored 11 points. Antioch (11-12) also received 9 points from Lauren Grant and 7 apiece from Allie Anttila and Christine Gaborek. Lauren Tiffany and Brittany Deem had 6 and 5 rebounds, respectively, and Katie Budd contributed 8 steals.

Carmel 32, Bishop McNamara 30: The host Corsairs pulled out the East Suburban Catholic Conference game, as Tiffany Hendrickson scored 13 points.

Huntley 49, Grayslake N. 28: Lauren Erickson sank three 3-pointers and scored 13 points for the visiting Knights in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game.

Grayslake North fell to 10-13 overall and 2-4 in the division.

Huntley (14-9, 4-2) received 13 points from Daisy Jara.