Libertyville hangs on against Vernon Hills
Two of Lake County’s best girls basketball teams squared off in the final tournament game of the day at Mundelein on Saturday night.
Neither Libertyville nor Vernon Hills disappointed.
Libertyville pulled out a 41-38 win, as Vernon Hills missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Nicole Kruckman scored a game-high 12 points to lead Libertyville (11-3, 2-0), which won its fifth game in a row. The Wildcats featured balanced scoring, as Alex Haley added 9 points, while Eileen Knauff and Haley Hoeksel chipped in 8 apiece.
Sydney Smith had 10 points for Vernon Hills (11-2, 1-1), which had its seven-game winning streak snapped. Meri Bennett-Swanson had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Cougars.
Grayslake North wins twice: At Richmond-Burton, as part of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, Kendall Detweiler scored a career-high 30 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and the Knights beat North Chicago 58-41 for their second win of the day and ninth straight overall.
Brooke Sauer added 10 points for Grayslake North (8-4, 3-0), which began the day by beating Crystal Lake South 42-28 behind Detweiler’s 9 points and Joanna Guhl’s 8.
Lakes splits: At Woodstock, as part of the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, the Eagles started the day with a 39-23 loss to Marian Central, before beating Harvard 68-33.
“Defensively (against Marian Central), we did a nice job but just could not get anything going offensively,” Eagles coach Pete Schneider said.
Lakes was led by Amanda Smith, who went 8 of 10 from the foul line. Marian Central was led by Shannon Wuensch and Caitlyn McKenna with 8 points each.
Ashlee Cunningham had 14 points for Lakes, while Heather Hurlbut and Smith added 11 apiece.
“Harvard is struggling, but they play hard,” Schneider said. “Their kids continue to work hard. We have been playing many young kids. I am very pleased with the way Marissa Merges, Sam Ney and Heather Hurlbut have begun playing. It is a tough transition to play varsity basketball and they have been stepping up. The leadership of Nicole Mogged, Ashlee and Amanda is really helping these young kids grow and develop.”
Lakes (5-7) resumes the tournament Wednesday night at Woodstock.
Cary-Grove 38, Mundelein 36: At Mundelein, the host Mustangs led 25-23 after three quarters but got outscored 15-11 in the fourth.
Mundelein (4-8, 1-1) was led by Taylor Davis with 10 points. Amanda Davis and Molly Rosenow had 8 each.
Huntley 35, Grant 30: At Mundelein, the Bulldogs lost despite Morgan Jahnke’s game-high 11 points, which included three 3-pointers.
Cassie Stimpson had 8 points for Grant (3-9, 0-2).
Carmel 45, Deerfield 35: At Warren, Kathleen Felicelli scored 13 points and Kaitlyn Lynch added 10 for the Corsairs in their tournament opener.
Carmel (7-4) also received 9 points from Sarah McHugh and 8 from Cassidy Kloss.
Grayslake Central 62, Lake Forest 44: At Warren, Claire Brennan scored 19 points and Skyler Jessop added 16, as the Rams’ tournament-opening win stretched their winning streak to nine game.
Morgan Dahlstrom had 12 points for Grayslake Central (9-2).
Niles North 44, Warren 43: At Warren, Mariyah Henley poured in 26 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Vikings knocked off the tournament host in opening-round action.
Lexi Leneau and Alyssa Phillips had 15 and 13 points, respectively, for Warren (5-6).
Wauconda loses twice: At Marengo, the Bulldogs fell to Marengo 29-26 and Woodstock North 49-36.
Wauconda dropped to 3-9 and and 0-3 in the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic.
Round Lake loses twice: At McHenry, the Panthers lost 51-17 to McHenry and 36-17 to Crystal Lake Central.
Round Lake fell to 3-11 and 0-3 in the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic.