Libertyville win is worth the wait

Playing its district rival for the first time in nearly seven years, Vernon Hills' girls basketball team had some jump early on.

The Cougars led Libertyville 8-4 on second-day action of pool play in the Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic at Mundelein.

But so much for the spurt.

Vernon Hills scored just 9 points the rest of the game, as Libertyville pulled away to win 42-17 Monday.

The District 128 rivals had not played each other since Feb. 17, 2003, when Libertyville defeated Vernon Hills 56-53 in overtime of a regional semifinal, also at Mundelein.

After falling behind early Monday, Libertyville (10-4, 2-0) tightened its defense, going on a 13-2 run to lead 17-10 after the opening quarter.

The Wildcats' Katelynn Jennings provided a spark off the bench after starter Olivia Wilcox got injured a couple of minutes into the game. Jennings scored all 7 of her points in the opening quarter. Wilcox needed to get stitches for a gash in her chin.

"We had a good defensive effort and took (Vernon Hills) out of everything they wanted to do," Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson said. "I told the girls we've got to settle down. They were trying to force things. We just got a little shot-happy, not knowing what to do. Once we got to do the right things, we got some wide-open shots."

Libertyville kept executing in the second quarter, as Savannah Trees scored 4 of her game-high 14 points during a 10-2 run that had the Wildcats up 27-12 at the half.

Included for Trees was 1 of her 6 steals, which she turned into a layup.

"It's fun getting a steal and a breakaway layup," Trees said. "Our team plays some pretty good defense."

Vernon Hills (10-2, 1-1) mustered just 2 points in the second quarter and none in the third.

Jessica Schwartz led the Cougars with 6 points, while the Wildcats held guard Alana Coy (2 points) and 6-foot-2 Meri Bennett-Swanson (3 points) to no field goals.

Vernon Hills committed 26 turnovers.

"We started out OK and stayed with Libertyville for a while," Cougars coach Paul Brettner said. "Libertyville's defense was just too strong. We couldn't get any good looks at all. Libertyville had great ball pressure in the passing lanes and was strong.

"Once they picked up their pressure, we didn't play with any confidence. We turned the ball over and our edge went away. If you let that get to you mentally, it's going to hurt."

The tournament resumes today, with Libertyville playing Glenbrook North at 9 a.m. and Vernon Hills facing Conant at 10:30 a.m.