Johnsburg 64, Wauconda 47

For the opening four minutes Monday at Grayslake Central, it was hard to tell who the No. 1 seed was.

Wauconda sophomore point guard Kate Martino scored her team's first 6 points and the No. 5 Bulldogs led No. 1 Johnsburg 9-3 a little more than four minutes into the sectional semifinal.

"I had so much adrenaline coming in," Martino said.

Johnsburg quickly asserted itself and rode senior Michelle McDonald's 28 points to a 64-47 victory.

After the slow start, the Skyhawks did not allow Wauconda to score for the next six minutes. They scored 21 unanswered points to turn an early deficit into a 21-9 lead.

"That was the key to the game right there," Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint said.

It didn't help matters for Wauconda that 6-foot-2 junior Lauren Mead picked up two quick fouls. When she returned to the court, she was quickly called for her third foul and spent the rest of the half on the bench.

"We had a great start," Wauconda coach Tim Bartusch said. "We thought we could play with Johnsburg, but we didn't have an answer for McDonald for awhile."

McDonald dominated but had plenty of help on the outside. Freshman Melissa Dixon hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and senior Rebecca Staveteig (16 points) made two 3-pointers.

"Michelle finished really well, and our 3-point shooters were able to get hot," Toussaint said.

After the Skyhawks rallied to take the lead, Wauconda's offense came alive again. The Bulldogs scored 15 points in the final five minutes of the first quarter but still trailed 36-24 at halftime.

Johnsburg's full-court press made it hard for Wauconda to get into a flow.

"We had never seen a press as good as ours," Martino said. "We did well at first but then we started to throw the ball away."

Wauconda hurt itself with poor free-throw shooting (2 of 12). Martino was 0-for-5, but still managed a team-high 18 points.

"She's fully capable of that," Bartusch said. "She's a resilient (player)."

Mead (4 points) was not her usual self, but the Bulldogs received a boost from freshman Tammy Ellis (13 points).

Wauconda will return three starters next year from a team that captured the program's first regional title in 15 years.

"We have a lot of (quality) young players, and I feel real good about future," Bartusch said. "I'm (also) really glad for our seniors and the success they had."