Libertyville's Savatic returns to help beat BG

Kaca Savatic hasn't practiced much basketball the last two weeks.

But she looked quite polished and fine-tuned in her first game of the season for Libertyville's girls team (1-1) Thursday night in the Bison Classic.

The 5-foot-8 junior forward scored a team-high 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds as the Wildcats posted a 46-39 victory over Buffalo Grove at Barrington High School.

"Kaca brings energy to the floor and she is a great rebounder," said Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson, who is assisted this season by former Buffalo Grove basketball standout Melissa Gorski.

"Kaca suffered a concussion two weeks ago (in club soccer) and she'd been back practicing only one day (Wednesday) before this game."

Two free throws by junior guard Andrea DiPrima (11 points, two 3-pointers) helped Buffalo Grove (0-1) get to within 39-32 with 3:31 left in the game.

But Savatic's 8-footer in the lane and a fastbreak layup by senior Leah Kruckman put the Wildcats ahead 43-32.

Kruckman finished with 9 points, while junior guard Savannah Trees, junior forward Olivia Wilcox and sophomore guard Alex Haley each added 8 for the winners who edged BG 40-38 in this same game last year.

"Credit Libertyville," said Bison coach Pat Dudle. "They they are well-balanced. You can't key on any of their players. We missed a lot of one and ones and we missed a lot of layups."

Junior KC Dunne made a lot of big driving layups for the Bison and led her team with 14 points.

"KC gave us a great effort defensively," Dudle said. "And I loved the way she attacked the basket."

BG's Stacy Lialios, a 5-6 senior forward, pulled down 13 rebound.

"Stacy gives us so much heart on the floor," Dudle said. "I just love her out there."

Savatic, who did not play in her team's 56-49 loss to Prospect on Tuesday, loved the way her team battled inside.

"Usually we're the shorter team, this time we had the advantage," she said. "The Kruckmans did a real nice job inside."

Sophomore Nicole Kruckman took a nice pass from her sister Leah to convert a 3-point play that gave Libertyville a 37-30 lead after DiPrima hit her second 3-pointer midway through the final quarter.

"Both the Kruckmans did a nice job looking inside against their posts," Swanson said. "I thought Savannah (Trees) played a great game. She was very assertive and took care of the ball well for us. Our youth showed. We gave them plenty of opportunities to score because of our mistakes."

But make no mistake. Savatic appeared at 100 percent following her time away from the court.