Lake Zurich uses 3rd quarter surge to beat Carmel
Lake Zurich junior Avery Cooper has waited a long time for this moment.
After suffering a knee injury last season, she spent about 10 months rehabbing, then returned to game action in December. Now back full-time, Cooper scored 9 of Lake Zurich's 11 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Bears past Carmel 37-33 in a Class 4A regional final Thursday.
Down the stretch, Cooper scored twice while LZ clung to a 1-point lead, hit 5 clinching free throws in the waning seconds and added a huge block on the defensive end. She led the Bears with 11 points, while Layne Nordstrom added 8 and Anna Gilbertson 6.
“Yeah, I feel great,” Cooper said when asked if she feels back to her pre-injury self. “A lot of PT, a lot of work. It's pretty difficult mentally, but I'm here now and we won regionals, so obviously it all paid off.”
Lake Zurich has a size advantage in most every game it plays. The Bears start four players taller than 6-feet and brought 6-2 center Alex Nowak-Tice off the bench. Carmel's tallest starter was 5-11 senior Keira Ackerson.
But the Corsairs (16-16) still have some players left who played for the Class 3A state championship team two years ago. Carmel played a 2-3 zone, was determined not to let LZ get the ball to the high post and forced enough turnovers to lead 20-15 at halftime.
“They're a good, scrappy, fast team,” LZ coach Chris Bennett said. “They have such experience from that state title team. You can see their experience in how they play.”
The Bears took command right away in the third quarter, first hitting Anna Gilbertson in the post for an easy bucket. Then younger sister Leah knocked down Lake Zurich's first 3-pointer of the night. LZ won the third quarter 11-3.
“They got a little bit of a comfort level in the third quarter, I thought,” Carmel coach Ben Berg said. “But proud of my girls. They played really played hard. We were undersized the whole year and we were right in it until the end.”
The Corsairs had a chance to take the lead late, but missed a good look at a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining and LZ boosted its lead to 36-30. Carmel senior Ashley Schlabowske finished off an impressive career with 16 points, while Ackerson scored 6.
Lake Zurich will face Rockton Hononegah in the McHenry sectional semifinals Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.