It's plain to see, Ellis is key for Wauconda
Jaime Dennis was a victim of a highly effective screen in a girls basketball game Friday night.
Dennis does not play a guard position for Wauconda High School.
Or forward.
Or center.
Dennis is the Bulldogs' coach.
She did not see the key play of her club's 41-37 defeat of visiting Vernon Hills.
"An official was in my way," she said after her reigning North Suburban Prairie Division champs improved to 8-0, 4-0. "But I did see Tammy (Ellis) after the play. She had fallen, and she had the ball. She's always on the floor."
What Dennis missed: Ellis, with her team leading 39-37, stole an inbound pass with 4.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-8 shooting guard, savvy to the bone, had stepped around a screen attempt by Vernon Hills' 6-2 sophomore center, Meri Bennett-Swanson, and was immediately fouled after securing the ball.
"Defense - we won tonight because of defense," said Ellis, a point guard last winter. "Our coach was proud of the way all of us played defense in the first half, and she told us to keep it up in the second half."
Ellis made both ensuing free throws. The first freebie was an adventure: She banked it in.
Blame that on out-of-control adrenaline.
"(Ellis) is a four-year varsity player, and she plays like it," said VH coach Paul Brettner, whose Cougars (6-3, 3-2) trailed 25-18 at the half but outscored the hosts 15-10 in the third quarter. "All teams, it seems, play harder than we do; we need to play hard for a full game. You can have all the talent in the world, but that alone usually doesn't beat a team that plays hard."
Bulldogs junior point guard Diane Enriquez played relentlessly all night, taking good care of the ball and scoring a team-high 12 points. She also grabbed team-best 7 rebounds, coming down with 3 in the final quarter.
Not bad for someone who stands 5-4.
"Vernon Hills is tall; we're small and quick," Ellis noted.
Vernon Hills' long-range shooting kept it in it. Cougars junior guard Abby Springer (13 points) hit 4 treys, and classmate Julie Precht (5 points) connected from 3-point land to start a 6-0 spurt in the third quarter.
Each team scored only 2 points in the first 6:51 of the final quarter. The Cougars trailed only 39-37 after Lauren Webb's bucket at 0:14.
"It's always a battle when we play Vernon Hills," said Dennis, whose squad went 2-1 against VH in 2009-10, including a playoff victory. "Paul prepares his teams so well."
Webb, a 6-0 freshman, finished with 11 points and 10 boards for VH; post mate Bennett-Swanson tallied 6 points, while Brie Bahlmann, a guard, snared 7 rebounds. Ellis netted 9 points for the victors, and teammates Cara Nance and Roslyn Summerville struck for 6 points apiece. Bulldogs senior forward Maggie Sarich finished with 5 rebounds.
"Our motto," Dennis said, "is, 'Play hard, play together, play smart.' We did that tonight - all of that."