Wauconda continues its winning ways

Wauconda called a timeout just as its own Erinn Hellweg was sinking a layup, negating the basket.

Later in the fourth quarter, a hustling Melanie Prudhomme ran right into coach Jaimie Dennis while chasing a loose basketball, knocking Dennis into a chair on the Bulldogs' bench. In the process, Dennis stepped on the shoe of assistant coach Nicole Biskupski.

"I smashed her toes," Dennis said sheepishly.

These aren't the mistake-prone Wauconda Bulldogs that junior Tammy Ellis remembers, however.

Thanks to a convincing, 49-35 win over visiting Antioch on Tuesday night, Wauconda (17-5, 10-1) clinched no worse than a share of first place in the North Suburban Prairie Division. The Bulldogs can clinch the division title outright and earn a berth in next week's conference championship game against Libertyville with a home win against Grant on Saturday.

The last conference championship Wauconda won was in 1997, when it played in the Northwest Suburban.

"When I was younger, I was like, 'Wow, Wauconda stinks,' " said Ellis, aware that her coaches Dennis and Biskupski, Wauconda graduates, were sitting not far from her. "They didn't do so well, so I was scared to be a part of this Wauconda stuff."

Senior guard Kate Martino, who along with Lauren Mead (Lewis University) and Ellis have keyed Wauconda's resurgence in recent years, led the way against Antioch (11-12, 6-4). Martino had 14 points, 7 steals, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.

Ellis added 11 points and 7 boards, while 6-foot-1 sophomore Hellweg provided 10 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench. Senior Kelsey Mills grabbed 8 boards.

"We started off a little rough (this season), questioning each other and figuring out where everybody fit," Dennis said. "But (the players) figured it out and now they believe. They're playing well."

Wauconda's press helped force Antioch into 13 first-half turnovers, with Martino picking up six of her steals. For the game, Wauconda got a pair of steals each from Prudhomme, Ellis, Hellweg and Rosyln Summerville.

"They're really good defensively," Sequoits junior Lauren Tiffany said. "We're not used to that kind of press, and it messed us up. We had to run a new press break, and that was different for us so we struggled with that a lot ... They guard a lot of area and it's hard for us to find the open girl."

Martino answered a 3-pointer by Andi Potkonjak (8 points) with a 3 of her own to snap a 5-5 tie late in the opening quarter. Martino then fed Mills for a short jumper, and a drive by Ellis had the Bulldogs up 12-5 heading into the second quarter.

The lead was 23-12 at halftime, with Antioch shooting 4 of 25 from the floor.

The Sequoits finished the game 12 of 54 (22 percent), including 3 of 20 from beyond the arc.

"When our shooting's off, our whole game is off pretty much," said Tiffany, who led Antioch with a team-high 12 points and 6 rebounds.

Wauconda's ability to break Antioch's pressure led to several layups in the third quarter. The home team was up 41-24 heading into the fourth.

"We brought it," Ellis said. "(Coach Dennis) put us in our '2B' press, which always puts a lot of pressure on (the opponent) and makes them work hard. And our (man-to-man defense) is just awesome. We're a fast team."