Girls basketball: Libertyville runs away from Grayslake Central
Libertyville's girls basketball team fell behind 4-0 on Tuesday night to Grayslake Central and was nursing a 3-point lead with just under five minutes until intermission.
But the Wildcats adjusted with a fast-paced, up-tempo game and produced an 11- 4 run to close out the half with a 27-17 cushion.
Coach Greg Pedersen's team, led by senior Elinor Lindal's game-high 17 points, never looked back in the second half en route to a 61-41 triumph in the third-round game of the Buffalo Grove Thanksgiving Classic.
The Wildcats will take their 3-0 record into the semifinals on Friday vs. Hersey and will face Maine South on Saturday.
"It's always a challenge to play two good teams in two days (both at 2:30 p.m.)," Pedersen said. "I can't wait to see how kids respond."
Lindal responded in a big way, scoring 9 points in the first half and 8 in the second.
"I think when we went to more of a full-court game we got more comfortable," LIndal said. "When we get going and make a few shots, we are usually pretty locked in."
"Elinor was the one who really stepped up," Pedersen said. "She is fast. If you're going to put all your attention on Lily (Fisher, a sophomore) and Madison (Sears, a senior), it's kind of a pick your poison situation and Elinor is always ready to step up.
"Our kids are kind of relentless so when it was 4-0, I said 'just keep doing what we're doing'. We've got some speed and ball handlers."
That speed showed up in the Wildcats' fastbreak and defensive pressure. On back-to-back possessions, it was Fisher dishing off an assist to Lindal for easy layups to end the third in Libertyville's favor, 44-27.
Senior Sophia Cesnovar's 3-pointer extended the lead to 47-29 in the fourth quarter and moments later Fisher hit a 3-pointer for a 49-33 advantage.
Baskets by junior guard Sophia Swanson (weaving layup) and sophomore Elle Knight (driving layup) followed as Libertyville extended its lead.
Fisher finished with 11 points while the 6-foot-2 Sears added 8. Swanson and classmate Ella Pawelczyk each chipped in 6.
"Elle Knight came off the bench and played her best game of the season," Pedersen said. "Sophia Cesnovar gave us good minutes off the bench. I think being able to rotate your top seven players keeps us fresh."
Wisconsin-Green Bay pledge Madison Hoffman led the Rams (3-1) with 15 points followed by Annie Wolf (10 points, 8 for 8 free throws). Peyton Hoffman and Addison Thomas each had 5.
"Greg (Pedersen) does a great job with them and they're a great team," said Rams coach Steve Ikenn. "When they force you to turn it over, which they do a lot, they're really good at capitalizing on it. They made us rush some possessions that we didn't need to and we rushed some shots. We hung around within 10 to 12 points most of the game. To their credit, they didn't let us get on a run to break it down even more.
"But I'm proud of the effort we gave. Libertyville showed us what we need to work on and we are going to get back at it."