Johnsburg edges Wauconda

Wauconda's home crowd was quiet until midway in the fourth quarter, when the Bulldogs girls basketball team took the lead. But it was not for long as Johnsburg took back the lead and held on to win 50-45 to capture a Class 3A girls basketball regional Friday night.

Johnsburg (25-7) was ahead 33-30 at the end of the third quarter. But the crowd exploded when the Bulldogs' Melanie Prudhomme started the fourth quarter with a layup and Tammy Ellis followed with a 3-point shot to give the Bulldogs 35-33 lead with 7:00 left in the quarter.

But the crowd got quiet again as the two teams exchanged the lead until Krista Volden scored on a layup and Megan Lopez shut the door with a 3 to give Johnsburg a 45-41 with 2:00 left.

"We tried to pull it together at the end," Wauconda's Lauren Mead said. "The coach called a timeout to settle us down defensively and told us to for the open shots, but they didn't go in. I think we played a real good game though."

"Wauconda is a good team and we knew that coming in," Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint said. "We played a 2-3 zone that we hadn't played all year for the most part."

One reason for the switch was to try and slow down Mead, who was held to 10 points.

"I think it slowed her down a little bit," Toussaint said. "You're not going to stop her, she's a good player."

Skyhawks sophomore Mellissa Dixon, who hurt her ankle due to cramping at the end of the game, led all scorers with 22 points, including three 3s.

"She is the real deal," Toussaint said. "She is a sophomore who plays like a senior. They changed up defensively and it slowed her down in the second half. We've been in close games all year and she finds ways to help us pull them out."

With starting point guard Lopez on the bench most of the second half due to foul trouble, Johnsburg's shooting guard Heather Miller stepped up to score 7 points and dish out 8 assists.

The main difference in the game was Wauconda's poor shooting as it shot only 17 of 52 for only 32 percent from the floor and only 9 of 22 from the free throw line.

Mead and Erin Hellweg led the Bulldogs with 10 points each while Tammy Ellis added 9 points and Kate Martino scored 8 points. Mead also brought down 12 rebounds.

Wauconda (21-6) shot only 17-of- 52 for 32 percent from the floor and only 9-of-32 from the free throw line.

(Johnsburg) hit their shots, " Wauconda coach Jaime Weber said. "We shut down Dixon in the second half by holding her to only 5 points, but their other players stepped up. Typically, we shoot 65 percent from the free throw line, but we were off tonight and that was the difference."

As for Mead, this was her last game for the Bulldogs. "I just want to wish my girls good luck next year," said Mead, who was a four-year starter with the varsity. "I think they will do very well and I also want to thank all of the seniors for having a good year."