Martino sparks Wauconda over Vernon Hills
She had just finished off a 9-steal effort that included several deflections to boot, and now it was Kate Martino's time to be swiped.
While Wauconda's senior guard was being interviewed by reporters after she led the Bulldogs to a 47-30 win at Vernon Hills in a first-place showdown Saturday, Cougars coach Paul Brettner walked over to her and expressed his appreciation. Whether his team won or lost the last four years, Brettner enjoyed game-planning twice a season for Martino.
"She is just a tough, heady basketball player," Brettner said. "A kid like that, a competitor, you respect the heck out of her. Every game she comes out she's going to do things to your players that not a lot of kids can do at the varsity level."
Martino picked quite the time to shine. In her addition to her 9 steals, she also scored a game-high 15 points, including two 3-pointers. Her performance helped Wauconda stretch its winning streak to seven games, avenge a 51-44 loss Dec. 9 and, most importantly, take over sole possession of first place in the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division.
Both Wauconda (15-4, 9-1) and Vernon Hills (13-8, 8-2) have two divisional games left.
"We're in the driver's seat, but we have a lot of driving left to do," said coach Jaime Dennis, whose Bulldogs finish NSC Prairie play with homes games against Grant and Antioch.
Martino and Melanie Prudhomme (10 points, 3 steals) led a defensive effort that helped force the Cougars into 26 turnovers, including 15 in the first half.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, with Martino (4 assists) and Tammy Ellis (3 assists) taking care of the basketball, handled the Cougars' press and every defense thrown at them.
"We knew they were going to come out and press us," Martino said. "Vernon Hills runs. That's all they do, and that's all we do. I love playing them. I'd play them every day."
One of Martino's steals was typical of her all-out, selfless style. She deflected a pass, then dived face-first toward the Wauconda bench and whipped a blind pass to Prudhomme at midcourt.
"I slammed right into the ground," Martino said with a laugh. "That was a hard hit."
She admittedly didn't see Prudhomme, but delivered a strike to her teammate.
"I'm glad she caught it," Martino said.
"We should have a stat for how many times she hits the floor," Dennis said of Martino. "She'll make a basket and hit the floor. She'll dive for the ball. She'll go through a wall for this team."
Up 28-17 at the half, Wauconda knew the game wasn't over. In the teams' first meeting, the Bulldogs blew a 30-20 halftime advantage.
"(Vernon Hills) is always aggressive coming out at half so we said the first three minutes are key," Dennis said. "He gets them pumped up and they play hard. I said we have to survive these next three minutes and come out and match their intensity. We didn't really talk about the (first) game against them too much."
Wauconda scored the first 3 baskets of the second half, while holding Vernon Hills scoreless until the four-minute mark of the third when Meri Bennett-Swanson (6 points) hit a hook shot.
The Bulldogs led 41-21 heading into the fourth.
Sophomore Ikie Ostrovsky led Vernon Hills in scoring with a season-high 9 points coming off the bench.
"With these kind of records and the meaning of the game, you would like it to end up being at least a close game and a good game for the people in the stands," Brettner said. "It wasn't."