Grayslake Central 57, Antioch 49

There are times when players step up when it counts.

Like in a state tournament game.

Grayslake Central's Haley Glynn and Erin Metzger did so Tuesday night. They provided a fourth-quarter spark to help lift the No. 11 Rams past sixth-seeded Antioch 57-49 in semifinal action of the Class 3A Lakes regional.

The Rams (9-19) next play in the regional final against No. 3 Regina Thursday night back at Lakes.

Glynn (game-high 12 points) hit a couple of key shots early in the fourth, tying the game at 41-41 That started a 6-0 run to give Grayslake Central a 49-43 lead with 3:24 left.

"I was calm. I thought this could be my last game," Glynn said. "We seem to play well as a team, but we kind of go through some slumps. I just wanted to pick things up a bit and I got motivated."

Metzger came off the bench and made a couple of free throws, finishing with 11 points. Her short jumper with under two minutes left pushed the Rams' lead to eight and they never looked back.

"We lost our momentum from earlier in the game and had to get it back," Grayslake Central coach Roger Lass said. "The girls played with a lot of guts and determination to finish it off."

Grayslake Central had firm control in the opening quarter and led 21-10.

But Antioch (13-14) let its defense dictate the game over the next two quarters.

The Sequoits scored the last 8 points of the second quarter of a 14-4 run and trailed 25-24 at the break.

Andi Potkonjak led Antioch with 12 points, 6 steals and 4 rebounds.

"We came out not ready to play," Antioch coach Tim Borries said. "Whether it was the inexperience or not, we needed time to settle down.

"I thought we broke down their defense and came back. However, the momentum changed again and Grayslake Central became the aggressor. They were the ones to take the ball to the hole."

The Rams' Megan LeBaron scored 11 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.