Smith, Vernon Hills get by Lakes
Freshman Sydney Smith scored 4 points, including a 3-pointer, in overtime, as host Vernon Hills outlasted Lakes 45-39 in North Suburban Prairie Division action Saturday.
Smith led Vernon Hills (9-10, 5-3) with 13 points and 7 rebounds. She hit two 3-pointers. Brie Bahlmann (2 assists, 2 steals) and Meri Bennett-Swanson (8 rebounds) each had 8 points for the Cougars, who spotted the Eagles an 18-5 lead after one quarter.
Ashley Parmly scored 8 of 11 points, including a pair of 3s, in the first quarter for Lakes (6-13, 2-5), which lost its fourth straight game and second to Vernon Hills this season.
Antioch 59, Round Lake 45: The host Sequoits stretched their winning streak to nine games, as Andi Potkonjak, Lindsey Gofron and Megan Borries each sank two 3-pointers and Lauren Tiffany posted a double-double in the North Suburban Prairie contest.
Potkonjak led Antioch (13-6, 5-2) with 18 points, while Tiffany scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. Gofron had 9 points and 7 assists, and Borries chipped in 9 points.
Round Lake (6-14, 0-8) was led again by Chanae Brown, who led all scorers with 23 points. Krystal Pitts and Adriana Pitts added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Panthers.
Carmel 55, Joliet Catholic 47: Sarah McHugh's 15 points led the host Corsairs in their East Suburban Catholic Conference win.
Erin Quinn added 10 points for Carmel (10-8, 2-3), which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Grant 43, Glenbrook North 37: Morgan Jahnke hit two 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 10 points, and the visiting Bulldogs held the Spartans to 3 points in the second quarter of the nonconference game.
Grant (7-11) also got 7 points from Donnie Taggart.
Wauconda 43, North Chicago 32: Tammy Ellis' 16 points, 7 steals and 5 rebounds led the Bulldogs to the North Suburban Prairie road win.
Rosyln Summerville added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots for Wauconda (17-1, 8-0), which also got 8 points and 6 rebounds from Chavez Coombs.
Grayslake Central 39, CL Central 33: The host Rams won their 16th in a row, as Rebekah Llorens scored a game-high 15 points.
Alex Scarbro had 9 for Grayslake Central (18-2, 7-0 Fox Valley Fox).
Woodstock 44, Grayslake North 37: The Knights fell to 6-13 with the Fox Valley Fox Division loss.
Glenbrook South 50, Hersey 44: Glenbrook South's Colleen McDonagh can talk defense all day.
She's covered some of the best guards in the area, including Niles West's Jewel Loyd, New Trier's Maggie Lyon and Wheaton North's Fantasia Vine.
Add to that list Hersey's Megan Rogowski on Saturday afternoon at the Titan Dome in Glenview.
"I've kind of been focusing on defense the last two seasons," McDonagh said. "I try to take pride in it. I come in knowing my job is to hold down the top players from the other team."
"Colleen loves the challenge," said Glenbrook South coach Steve Weissenstein. "She wants to watch films of other players so she can pick up on their tendencies. She is so smart. She knows the game."
Opponents must realize she also knows the other part of the game. Don't dismiss McDonagh's offensive skills.
The 5-foot-9 junior guard equaled her career-high of 18 points including a personal high-five 3-pointers to help the Titans (12-6) stun visiting Hersey 50-44 and ending the Huskies' 13-game winning streak.
"Colleen played fantastic," Weissenstein said. "She hit 3s, and she did a great job on Rogowski (game-high 19 points, ). She held her down as much as you can."
Rogowski, who averages 23.9 ppg, converted a huge 5-point play (3-pointer, then fouled after the shot and hit 2 free throws) with 3:14 left in the game to give Hersey (16-4) a 43-40 lead.