Warren snares playoff victory over Libertyville
Warren's 1-3-1 defensive trap is not unlucky, despite its number.
"We're good at '13' (1-3-1 trap) when we do it," Warren sophomore guard Kaylen Dickson said. "Everyone knows their slides. Everyone knows where to go. We work on it hard at practice."
"In practice, we love running that trap," fellow sophomore Jordyn Hughes said. "It's just fun because everyone gets steals and we get to run around."
No. 9 Warren had lots of fun running around Wednesday night. The Blue Devils used their effective trap to rally from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and beat No. 8 Libertyville 47-35 in the Class 4A Warren regional semifinals.
Warren (17-12), which advances to Friday's 7 p.m. final against top-seeded Fremd (25-2), lost to Libertyville (15-13) twice during North Suburban Lake Division play. After losing to the Wildcats 53-34 in December, the Blue Devils dropped a 41-38 decision on their home court last month.
"That (second game) was a coin-flip game, and we knew this would be a coin-flip game," Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. "It was an 8-9 game (sectional seeds) - on the (No.) 9's home floor."
Libertyville looked in position to win on Warren's court again when Maggie Piazzi (7 points) sank a 3-pointer with 5:27 left in the third quarter to extend the Wildcats' lead to 31-21. But Hughes banked in a 10-footer to spark an 8-0 run for the Blue Devils. With all the momentum, Warren relinquished some when Claire Keefe (8 points, 7 rebounds) beat the buzzer with a driving layup off an inbounds pass.
Libertyville took a 33-29 advantage into the fourth, but Warren's 1-3-1 trap was already giving the Wildcats problems. With Kiara Mabien at the point, the Blue Devils played relentless defense.
Libertyville committed 12 of its 17 turnovers in the second half.
"In the locker room at halftime (trailing 26-21), we all came together and said, 'It feels stale. We're not working together. We can play better,' " Hughes said. "We all put our heads together and said, 'This is what we have to do, and this is how we're going to do it.' "
Warren scored the first 11 points of the fourth, before Piazzi pulled Libertyville within 40-35. But then Dickson (game-high 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals) excited her team with a nifty spin move and bucket with 3:12 to go. The Blue Devils closed the game with a 7-0 run.
"That's what I'm known for now," Dickson said with a smile of her spin move to the basket.
Hughes finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals for Warren. The Blue Devils also got big contributions from Jocelyn Bell (6 points, 7 boards), Rebekah Foley (6 points on two 3-pointers, 2 blocks) and Asha Lake (5 points, 3 steals).
Riley Weis scored all of her team-high 11 points (three 3s) in the first half for Libertyville. Caroline Frea grabbed 13 rebounds and scored 4 points for the Wildcats.
"Warren deserved to win," Pedersen said. "They played aggressive defense that rattled us in the second half. Congratulations to them."