Libertyville passes up Carmel
The distance between Libertyville and Carmel high schools?
About a hop, skip and a … jumper.
A rather long jumper.
But passing, not shooting, highlighted a girls basketball game Wednesday night at Carmel.
Libertyville routed Carmel 56-28 in the Rte. 176 battle in Mundelein.
“We had to pass well, because Carmel likes to use a 2-2-1 zone press and does a good job with it,” Wildcats coach Kathie Swanson said.
The visitors busted that press early, using sharp passes and fast breaks to race to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:32. Libertyville senior guard Alex Haley (23 points) scored her first bucket on a steal-and-break sequence, making it 4-0.
Shortly thereafter, classmate Eileen Knauff (8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) grabbed a defensive rebound and sprinted the length of the court for a layup.
“We worked on (the press break) for about a half hour in practice (Tuesday),” said Haley. “That was tiring. But it sure was fun to see it work on the court tonight.
“(Knauff) and Olivia (Mayer),” she added, “did such a good job of pushing the ball. All I wanted to do was run as hard as I could to keep up with them.”
The run that seemingly broke most of the Corsairs’ morale spanned the last 3:10 of the first quarter and the first 5:07 of the second quarter.
Libertyville’s 10-0 stretch upped its lead to 26-10.
“It was our best start of the season, definitely,” Haley said. “And the most energy we’ve had at the start of a game. Then we kept it going.”
Carmel sophomore guard Kathleen Felicelli (team-high 9 points, 2 steals) tallied her club’s last 3 points of the first half and first 4 points of the second half.
Libertyville (17-6) limited Carmel (13-10) to 3 points in the second quarter and led 28-13 at the break.
“Libertyville,” said Corsairs coach Kelly Perz, “is a good, solid team … and so disciplined. Its players, all of them, are disciplined, and tonight they executed well on offense and defense.
“We have to be better prepared, mentally, before our next game. And we can’t give up the number of layups we gave up tonight. You do that, at any level, and you’re not going to win.”
Had Wednesday’s night game been a hockey game, at any level, Libertyville senior center Nicole Kruckman (6 points, 4 boards) would have gotten credit for an assist at the start of a professional-looking transition in the first quarter.
How it unfolded: Kruckman received a pass near midcourt, practically one-timed it to Haley, who quickly redirected the ball to an in-stride Mayer, who then banked in an easy layup.
The ball hit hardwood exactly zero times in the zippy trip.
“(Libertyville) is a strong team, with great chemistry,” said Corsairs senior Sarah McHugh (5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals), who will play soccer at Northern Iowa. “Their players work so well together, and they never have a bad game when they play us.”
Libertyville’s Mayer finished with 10 points, 6 in the first eight minutes. She bookended the first quarter with field goals; her other basket in the frame came at 3:35. Senior forward Kerry Risley added 5 points.
Carmel’s Kaitlyn Lynch (8 points), a 5-foot-10 senior forward, poured in the home team’s first 8 points.