Libertyville upsets Lake Zurich again in 43-39 victory

Libertyville sophomore Kaca Savatic has only been up with the varsity team for only 10 days, but it took only a small portion of the fourth quarter of the Wildcats North Suburban Lake Division battle at first-place Lake Zurich for Savatic to make a powerful impact.

In one stretch, Savatic stole the ball under the Lake Zurich basket to preserve the lead. Then she drained a pair of free throws with 9.9 seconds left to secure the Wildcats' second win of the season over Lake Zurich, this time 43-39.

"I am still trying to get used to my team and my teammates," Savatic said. "I was just trying to think about basketball at the end. I just kept saying, when I was at the line, not to think it, just sink it."

Savatic's heroics came later in the game but it was the play of senior Kristy Williams that carried Libertyville (13-9, 6-4) throughout.

"This was a total team win for us," Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson said. "We have a lot of confidence that we can play with teams like Lake Zurich, Mundelein and Cary Grove."

During one stretch in the second quarter, Williams scored 10 straight for the Wildcats to help Libertyville erase an early 12-0 deficit. Williams' burst contributed to her game-best 18 points and just a 1-point halftime deficit at 25-24.

"I was here the other night and saw Mundelein come back from being down by a lot so I knew we could do it," Williams said. "It is such a great accomplishment for us to come here and beat a team like Lake Zurich."

While Williams was shooting the ball well, especially from behind the arc (4-for-6 from three), Lake Zurich senior Lydia Bauer suffered through one of her toughest shooting nights of the season. The Wisconsin-Green Bay-bound senior missed her first 7 shots and finished with 4 points.

"This has happened to us a lot this season," Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said of losing the early 12-point lead. "We get ahead then lose the lead. But earlier in the year we would put together another comeback, and lately we haven't been doing that."

Despite the hurdles that Lake Zurich (17-5, 8-2) had to clear, the Bears still only trailed 33-31 into the fourth quarter. Libertyville built the lead to as many as 6 points in the fourth quarter and Lake Zurich would not get any closer than 2 points.

The Bears' best chance to tie came with under a minute to play. But Savatic stole the ball under the Lake Zurich basket and her subsequent pair of free throws secured the win.

Audrey Bauer (13 points) and Bradley-bound senior Olivia Allen (12 points) were the only Bears to hit double figures.