Lake Zurich 43, Lake Forest 37

A loss to Lake Forest is the only blemish on Lake Zurich's record the last couple of weeks.

On Wednesday night, the Bears earned a little revenge.

Eighth-seeded Lake Zurich defeated No. 10 Lake Forest 43-37 in a semifinal game of the Class 4A Lake Zurich regional.

The win was the seventh in eight games for Lake Zurich (22-9), which will play No. 2 Wheeling in the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

As always, Lake Zurich's goal was to hold its opponent under 40 points, and the Bears accomplished just that against Lake Forest (16-13).

"We did it, barely," coach Chris Bennett said. "We had a nice first half and we kind of gave up some easy shots in the second. Lake Forest is a good team and they got better throughout the year."

After Lake Zurich held Lake Forest to only 2 field goals in the first quarter to take a 9-4 lead, the Bears allowed just 11 more the rest of the game.

Lake Zurich led 18-11 after halftime, but Lake Forest chipped away at its deficit. Julie Collins sank a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to bring the Scouts within 31-26.

Lake Forest's Jean Rebarchak opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer. Claire Dimario's jumper pulled the Scouts within 33-32 with 6:15 left.

But Olivia Allen converted two foul shots and Peggie Parhas followed with a 10-foot jump shot to extend Lake Zurich's lead to 37-32 with less than three minutes left.

Allen led the Bears with 14 points, while Audrey Bauer added 9 and Jessica Cacioppo had 8.

"We had to hustle to get our rebounds and score," Allen said. "They are a very good defensive team and we had to get to the basket and shoot our open jump shots."

"As always, Olivia plays well when she is aggressive," Bennett said. "She did a nice job taking the ball to the basket. She got a couple of baskets off of steals."

Rebarchak finished her 3-year varsity career for the Scouts by leading all scorers with 15 points.

"I was happy with the way we fought back," Rebarchak said. "I thought we might have been able to pull it off at the end."

Lake Forest coach Nick Balaban tipped his hat to Rebarchak.

"I think every coach would want 12 Jean Rebarchaks," Balaban said. "She may not have quickness, she may not be fleet of foot, but she is the leader of this team. She is a savvy player and really understands the game."