Quite a feat for Risley, Libertyville
Kerry Risley credited her footwork for her successes on Thursday night in Gurnee.
How else to explain her great night against a taller Warren club?
After all, she was surrendering 4 inches to Warren standout center Jessica Prince.
Risley, Libertyville’s 5-foot-11 forward, almost had a perfect night. She made 7 of 8 shots from the floor and nailed 4 straight free throws. Her 18 points led the Wildcats (13-4, 6-2) to a 45-36 North Suburban Lake Division victory.
“It’s all mental,’’ Risley said. “It’s all about the footwork and getting my feet set.”
Risley scored her team’s final 6 points of the second quarter as Libertyville opened up a 19-16 halftime lead.
“She’s a gamer,’’ said Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson.
This was still anyone’s game late in the third quarter. That’s because despite drawing double teams, Warren’s Prince, headed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was having her way with the Libertyville interior defense.
“She’s a handful,’’ Swanson said. “She’s a tough matchup.”
On another inside hoop from Prince, the Libertyville lead was 23-22 with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter.
A 6-0 run by the Wildcats, however, closed the quarter. Haley Hoeksel’s lone bucket of the game came on a steal and score. Libertyville took a 29-22 lead to the fourth quarter.
Warren (9-7, 3-3) had one more run left in it. Back-to-back baskets from Alyssa Phillips (6 points) and another layup from Prince (16 points) cut the Wildcats lead to 31-28.
“Our coach called timeout and she said we were stopping ourselves,” Risley said.
An 8-0 Libertyville run put this game away. Two scores from Risley and 4 more points from Eileen Knauff (6 points) increased the Wildcats’ margin to 39-28.
For Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz, it was another night to watch his Blue Devils miss some shots. Warren made 15 of 44 from the floor and 4 of 17 from 3-point range. Two of those made 3s came in the game’s last 29 seconds.
“This is not new for us,’’ Stanczykiewicz said. “You can’t do that. We are not a team that shoots the 3-pointer that much.”
If there was some good news for the Warren coach, it came in watching a competitive contest.
“I was wondering how we would come out after having two weeks off,’’ he said. “It was a clean game.”
Risley had help in the scoring department from Alex Haley. The senior guard just missed a double double with 15 points and a game-leading 9 rebounds.