Runaway win for Vernon Hills

Vernon Hills 63, Sullivan 15: The two benches nearly mirrored the game's start.

Host Vernon Hills had 10 substitutes to Sullivan's one in the teams' Class 3A regional semifinal.

The Cougars bolted to an 11-0 lead.

Sydney Smith scored all 18 of her points in the first half, as No. 2 Vernon Hills rolled. The Cougars were up 23-4 after one quarter and 40-6 at halftime.

"We were just trying to focus on what we do," coach Paul Brettner said after his Cougars improved to 22-5 and earned a berth in their regional final Thursday against Antioch.

The Cougars worked simply on execution and did that particularly well in the opening quarter, shooting 11 of 15 from the floor while limiting the 18th-seeded Tigers to 2-of-10 shooting.

"I don't want to water down the game at all," Brettner said. "Just go out, play and do our stuff. We didn't press or do any of that stuff. We're not pressing much at this time of the year anyway. It's the playoffs."

Meri-Bennett-Swanson added 10 points for Vernon Hills. Brettner didn't play any of his top-eight players in the second half. Four freshman call-ups and sophomore call-up Katherine Koczwara played plenty in the second half. Freshman Kristen Guglielmi had 6 points, junior Alyssa Burrows had 5, and freshman Haley Lieberman chipped in 4 points and 3 steals.