Radiant effort lifts Warren past Wauconda

If Jordyn Hughes looks tan, it's because the Warren sophomore guard basked in Florida sunshine last week.

"I was really pale before," Hughes said.

If all seems sunny for Hughes and her basketball teammates, it's because the Blue Devils continued their winning ways Wednesday night. Behind Kaylen Dickson's game highs of 13 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals, and 11 points apiece from an energized Hughes and sharpshooting Rebekah Foley, Warren coasted to a 56-23 win over visiting Wauconda in a North Suburban Conference crossover.

It was the seventh win in a row for Warren (10-7), which was playing for the first time since winning all five of its games in capturing its own Blue Devil Classic.

Since starting the season 1-6, the Blue Devils have won nine of 10 games.

"It was really disappointing for everyone," Hughes said of her team's early season struggles. "We were all getting down on ourselves. Right before Christmas, we all dug down and said, 'We're winning this (tournament), we're going 5-0, and we're going to start winning games.' We started passing the ball more, playing a team game and working the ball. It's changed our game."

Hughes didn't start against Wauconda (10-4) because she missed a practice while on vacation. Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz said it was nothing major, just miscommunication. As proof of how much the Blue Devils have improved since the beginning of the season, they got off to a quick start against the Bulldogs even with Hughes watching from the bench.

By the time Hughes checked into the game midway through the opening quarter, Warren had a 7-0 lead behind the first of three 3-pointers by Foley and back-to-back buckets by the 5-foot-11 sophomore Dickson. The home team was up 11-1 after one quarter and went into halftime up 29-8.

By game's end, Warren had received points from nine of its 12 players.

"When we started out the season, we weren't so deep," said Stanczykiewicz, who had four players who were expected to contribute not come out for the team. "The first month, I didn't know who was going to play guard. It took us the first 3-4 weeks to figure it out and learn how to play together."

Wauconda suffered its third straight loss after finishing the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic with two defeats. The Bulldogs were without starting guard Hayley Sutherland, who was ill, and post Hayley Redmann, who suffered a concussion in the team's holiday tournament.

"We didn't practice well this week," Wauconda coach Jaime Dennis said. "Then being down those two players is a big blow to our team and our team chemistry. We looked a little out of sorts. We weren't quite sure who was going to step up and take those minutes."

Corinna Vaughan led Wauconda with 8 points, while Katie Rossetti had 4 points and 7 rebounds. The Bulldogs got fourth-quarter 3-pointers from Cassandra Salisbury and Michaela Kimbell.

"They were undermanned, but they were still 10-3 and had (had) success," Stanczykiewicz said. "So I was really proud of how we came out and played hard."