Grayslake Central streak hits 7 in a row

The new girl, who really isn't that new, remembers that season opener and just how out of sorts she and her Grayslake Central basketball teammates were against Jacobs.

"We had never actually played together," said Rebekah Llorens, a 6-foot-1 junior who was home-schooled from fourth grade until sophomore year. "Our first game, Coach was like, 'You guys are acting like you haven't played together.' We were like, 'We haven't.' We had only two weeks of practice."

Llorens laughs about that now. After all, it sure seems like a long time ago and, oh, how the Rams have jelled since then. In fact, they haven't lost since their 21-point stinker against Jacobs.

Grayslake Central won its seventh game in a row Saturday night, rallying in the second half to defeat host Grayslake North 47-37 and improve to 7-1 overall, including 4-0 in the Fox Valley Fox Division.

Skyler Jessop scored a game-high 13 points for the Rams, while Llorens added 11 points and 12 rebounds. The varsity rookie had 6 points and 6 boards after halftime.

Llorens is no stranger to some of her teammates, as she played feeder ball with fellow starters Alex Scarbro, Maddy Miller and Kat Dickson. Against Grayslake North (3-6, 0-3), Dickson had 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Miller sank a big third-quarter 3-pointer. Scarbro contributed 3 steals. The three players combined for 11 points.

Like on the basketball court with her new team, Llorens has adjusted well to the high-school classroom.

"It's obviously a very different atmosphere," she said. "But, yeah, I do like it. I think it was a good change."

Speaking of adjustments, that's what Grayslake Central had to do against Grayslake North in the second half.

At the break, the Knights led 27-22.

"(Grayslake North's) matchup zone kind of confused us in the first half," Rams coach Roger Lass said. "I told them at halftime that we were playing every possession like there were three seconds left in the game. We were just jacking it up, driving and forcing shots. We settled down a little in the second half and played better defense."

Grayslake North led by as many as nine points in the third quarter and still enjoyed a 34-29 edge after Lauren Erickson (12 points, 14 rebounds) hit her second 3. But the Rams closed the quarter with a 7-0 run.

Roxy Acoff was huge in the third for the visitors, scoring 5 of her 7 points, including a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to give the Rams the lead for good.

"Whatever she gives us offensively is a plus because we know she's a great defensive player," Lass said of the junior backup. "She really did give us a spark."

In the fourth, the Rams slowly pulled away. The Knights scored only 3 points in the quarter and 10 total in the second half. Kinsey Siler had 8 points, while Katie McGrath and reserve Brooke Sauer each scored 7.

"We're this close," said coach Jim Sarver, whose Knights lost in double overtime to Johnsburg earlier in the week. "We had some bunnies that, if we finish, keeps the pressure on them. But we executed what we were supposed to do. We ran our offense."

It was Grayslake Central's closest win of the season.

"It's good that we can get a win not playing our best," Lass said. "North played a great game. They were real intense, played smart and made a lot of shots."