Ceglarek, Grayslake North prevail

Allie Ceglarek's stick-to-itiveness didn't stop once the final buzzer sounded on Grayslake North's long-awaited home-opening basketball game.

The pesky senior guard went searching for some sticky stuff.

"My gum went flying out of my mouth during the game," said Ceglarek, her eyes scanning the area of the court where she lost her gum. "It was the third or fourth quarter, and I was running. I was like, 'Ah, forget it. I'll get it later.' "

Ceglarek and her teammates avoided stepping on her gum during the game, and the Knights avoided defeat again.

Grayslake North's 43-36 win over Hampshire in a Fox Valley Fox Division game Tuesday night stretched the Knights' winning streak to 12 games and tied their school record for victories in a season.

Grayslake North (12-3, 3-0), which seeks its record-setting win Friday night at Woodstock, used a fast start to take control against Hampshire (5-9, 1-2), and never trailed.

"We overcame vacation legs," coach Jim Sarver said after his Knights won despite committing 27 turnovers.

The 5-foot-4 Ceglarek, who's usually one of Sarver's first players off the bench, made her first start of the season and had an immediate impact. She forced a five-second violation on the game's opening possession and then came down the court and canned a 3-pointer from the right corner.

"It doesn't (make a difference)," Ceglarek said of starting or coming off the bench. "I just go out on the floor and do my thing whenever they put me out. I just do it for the team."

Ceglarek scored a season-high 11 points and was one of three Knights in double figures. Joanna Guhl had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Brooke Sauer added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Katie McGrath contributed 4 assists, 8 rebounds and a three-point play.

"Ceglarek played really great to start the game," Sarver said. "She and Jordyn (Bowen) are such defensive catalysts out there. I thought the game was won just on how hard we played defensively in the first quarter, because then they were chasing us the whole time."

Hampshire (5-9, 1-2) turned the ball over on its first seven possessions and spotted Grayslake North an 8-0 lead.

The Whip-Purs committed 18 of their 24 turnovers in the first half. They trailed 15-9 after one quarter and 26-15 at halftime.

"Sluggish," Hampshire coach Ed Haugens said. "I think the long layoff hurt, too. The last time we played was the 17th (of December), but that's still no excuse. We just turned the ball over way too much in the first half. (Grayslake North) did a nice job pressuring us."

Hampshire held Knights leading scorer Kendall Detweiler to 4 points. The sharpshooting Detweiler, who came off the bench, attempted only 1 shot from beyond the arc and had it blocked.

"She was away for vacation," Sarver said. "You could kind of see it in her play a little bit."

Michelle Dumoulin and Jennifer Dumoulin led Hampshire with 12 and 7 points, respectively, and each player hustled for 9 rebounds.

Hampshire, which trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, outscored Grayslake North 9-8 in the third quarter and 12-9 in the fourth. The visitors scored the game's last seven points, after Guhl's basket stretched Grayslake North's lead to 43-30 with 1:50 left.

"Give them credit," Sarver said of his team's opponent. "We got them down right away and they never stopped playing."

"We saw some positive things," Haugens said. "The girls started seeing each other and doing some good things. You're never happy with a loss, but I'm proud of some of the things the girls were doing in the second half."