Wauconda 59, N. Chicago 48

For Wauconda, an arduous evening ended in triumph. When it was over, they had bumps, bruises, bloody lips and a regional championship plaque to show for it Thursday night in Chicago.

For the first time in 15 years, Wauconda's girls' basketball team will advance to the sectional after outlasting an aggressive North Chicago team 59-48 in Class 3A Sen regional.

The game remained close until the fourth quarter when Wauconda's defense held the Lady Warhawks scoreless for the first 3:49. Soon the Bulldogs' lead reached 20 points and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Junior center Lauren Mead led all scorers with 17 points after missing Tuesday night's semifinal win over Grayslake Central with bronchitis. She was absent for much of the final game as well.

After picking up 2 first-quarter fouls, Mead sat until halftime. Once she re-entered in the third she promptly took an inadvertent elbow to the face under the basket and had to sit out the quarter with an open cut.

The 6-foot-1 pivot player scored 7 points in the fourth as the Bulldogs pulled away.

"I really wanted to get back in there," Mead said afterward with a heavy bandage over her upper lip. "I've never had a win like this and I'm really proud of my team for finding a way to pull it out."

One of the major reasons for the Bulldogs ability to weather a Warhawks' storm throughout the first three quarters was the play of sophomore guard Kate Martino. She scored 13 points and anchored the Bulldog defense along with backcourt mate Tammy Ellis.

Martino said coach Tim Bartusch always implores his players to pick up the slack for fallen teammates. But on this night the Bulldogs didn't need to be told.

"It was now or never," Martino said. "Lauren is one of our top scorers and she's definitely our tallest player. But short and quick is what you want on defense and that's exactly what we had."

North Chicago cut the lead to 5 points on a Rochelle Ryan layup with 2:41 to go in the third period but Wauconda answered immediately with a 3-pointer by Katie LaPage (13 points).

The bomb gave Wauconda a 39-31 lead and a decided edge in momentum. Soon Mead would return for the stretch drive to Bartusch's first regional title in his nine years at Wauconda.

"I told our girls we were capable of this," Bartusch said. "It was one of our goals. We've been playing 4A teams all year so we felt we were battle-tested."

They were further tested by the physical Lady Warhawks, who fought hard for every rebound and loose ball. If the Wauconda girls were any worse for wear, they didn't show it as they smiled, hugged and posed for pictures with their plaque.

"We started out as a team in the summer and they kept getting better," Bartusch said. "They showed up every day and worked. This is what they get for it. They deserve it."

BG 75, Round Lake 30: "Thank you Coach Dineen."

More than 20 former Buffalo Grove girls basketball players wore those words on the back of white T-shirts Thursday night to celebrate the career of Hall of Fame coach Tom Dineen, who was honored prior to the game for his ensuing retirement as a teacher in District 214.

The players, one from his first team (Elite Eight) in 1979 and a few from the 2000 state title squad, watched the top-seeded Bison run past No. 7 Round Lake 75-30 in the title game of the Buffalo Grove Class 4A regional.

The Bison (29-3) will face No. 5 Mundelein at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Mundelein sectional.

The Tom Dineen celebration made for an emotional start to the evening and it ended the same way. The Bison won a school-record 40th straight game on their home floor and a 25th regional in 29 seasons under Dineen.

Senior Maggie Mocchi (20 points) broke down in tears when discussing her last home game of a terrific four-year career along with her sister Allison, Ellen Ayoub and Lauren Angotti.

Before the contest, it was Dineen's turn to shed a few tears as he spoke to the big crowd about the support he has received from his wife Chris and three children, including his daughter and former standout guard Jamie, who could not make it in from California.

"I was so sad," Maggie Mocchi said of the pregame ceremonies. "He is an awesome coach. This is our last game on this court. We practice here every day."

"I was getting very teary-eyed," added senior Ellen Ayoub, who scored a game-high 27 points. "I was worried how I would play. It was very overwhelming. It's sad (that it may have been his last home game) when you think about all he has accomplished here. I really enjoyed seeing all the former players and listening to him speaking about them."

The Bison spoke with authority on the floor when they built a 15-2 cushion less than six minutes.

Round Lake (24-6) was led by 6-foot junior post Amber Phillips' 10 points.

"Our kids played awfully hard," said Round Lake coach Gary Edge, whose club tied the single-season school record for wins. "Buffalo Grove has a few more bullets than us. Their press hurt us and we made poor decisions.

"We still accomplished a lot this season. We had a good group of seniors (Corrine Conrad, Diane Harvey, Amanda Houghton, Brittany Jordan, Brittany Kucia, Christina Pfingsten, Jazzmin Rivers and Patty Velazquez). They were a great group of kids and they should be proud.

"BG is a great team and I wish them well in the sectional."

For the second time in three nights, Dineen was able to play all 12 girls on his roster,

Heather Nisbet added 14 for the winners while Allison Mocchi, Allison Heissel, Kaitlin Hillner, Stacy Lialios and Kelly Mahoney all scored in BG's final home game.

"Round Lake is a physical team," Dineen said. "They won 24 games. We wanted to establish that we were on our home floor and control things right off the bat, and we did."

Just when it looked as if a Round Lake player would swipe the ball from Ayoub near half court in the second half, the senior made a nifty around-the-back dribble and went in for a layup, bringing a loud roar from the crowd.

"These kids are fun to watch," Dineen said. "Our past players all built the program and these current kids have taken it to a whole new level.

These last two nights (won 94-47 on Tuesday over Deerfield) have shown why the people in this community love to come out and watch them play."

-- John Leusch

Regina 57, Grayslake C. 48: Grayslake Central hoped to continue playing its best basketball of the season.

The Rams won 4 of their last 5 games and had their sights set on staying alive with a fourth-quarter comeback on Thursday night.

However, third-seeded Regina responded with 9 unanswered points from the free line and got by No. 11 Grayslake Central 57-48 in the Class 3A Lakes regional championship.

The Panthers (14-17) will play Marian Central at 8:10 p.m. Monday in the Grayslake Central sectional semifinals.

"We didn't lose that game, Regina beat us," Grayslake Central coach Roger Lass said. "We didn't grab some loose balls. We played hard and maybe played our best game.

"We did come back and tied the game. I thought we had them right there. But, Regina made some plays and it went down their way."

The Panthers showed no pressure in making 9-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes after the Rams pulled even.

"When Grayslake Central tied the game, we could've have fallen apart," Regina coach Jim Russo said. "I thought we were a little tired. Give a lot of credit to Grayslake (Central) they never gave up. Even Grayslake Central coach Roger Lass said before the game, the team is better in finishing. We respected that and finished it in the fourth quarter.

"Shooting free throws for us sometimes can be an adventure for us."

The Panthers' Kelcey Traynoff made four of them down the stretch and went 8-for-8 from the line en route to a game-high 15 points.

"I was relaxed when I made them," said Traynoff, a junior, who played for Carmel her last two years and transferred to Regina at the start of this school year. "I knew a lot of girls on the Grayslake team from school. I guess it was no different from any other game."

Brittany Johnson had 13 points and 5 rebounds for Regina and Kelly Fitzpatrick added 10 points and 6 rebounds.

The Rams were down 44-35 with 7:07 left when Traynoff hit a 3-pointer.

Grayslake Central made a strong 13-4 run and tied the game at 48-48 as Megan LeBaron (team-high 12 points) hit a baseline jumper with 2:12 left.

"I wanted to help the team out with the shot, so we had a chance to win," LeBaron said. "We worked hard as a team, we couldn't give anything back offensively. We did give our best efforts, but it didn't work out for us."

-- Rusty Silber

Marian C. 40, Vernon Hills 37 At Vernon Hills, the second-seeded Hurricanes earned a berth in the Class 3A Grayslake Central sectional, as they held off the eighth-seeded Cougars.

Brianna Skeens had 13 rebounds, 4 points and 4 assists for Vernon Hills (11-19). Taryn Abbassian and Jamie Rucks each scored 6 points.

Amy Burton added 5 points and 4 rebounds.

Boys basketball

Grayslake C. 45, Huntley 35: Mike Davis scored a game-high 20 points for the Rams in the Fox Valley Fox Division game.

Grayslake Central (18-5, 6-1) also received 12 points from Andrew Sipes and 11 from Mike Brumm.

Lake Zurich 71, Libertyville 59: Connor Mooney had 24 points and Austin Cox added a season-high 20 for the Bears in the North Suburban Lake Division game.

Andy Garlisch chipped in 11 points for Lake Zurich (12-10, 2-9), which has won three in a row.