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Girls basketball: Libertyville responds to every Lake Zurich charge

Every time it looked like Lake Zurich had the momentum, the Libertyville girls basketball team responded.

Lilly Fisher had 13 points, four assists, and four rebounds to lead Libertyville to a 46-41 victory Friday night.

“Our defense to offense always kind of saves us,” Fisher said. “So, when our defense is strong, it contributes. We have to stay aggressive, strong with the ball.”

It was at the free-throw line where she made her mark, going 9-of-12, and helping slow down the game when Lake Zurich started to get the crowd into it.

Lake Zurich, 5-5 overall, 2-2 North Suburban Conference, took its first lead in the third quarter after a Molly Friesen 3-pointer. The Bears had 1-point leads on three different occasions in the quarter, but Libertyville responded taking back the lead on its next possession each time.

After Leah Gilbertson put the Bears up 27-26, the Wildcats put together a 10-0 run and never trailed for the rest of the game. Sophia Swanson and Fisher combined for 7 of those points during the run.

Lake Zurich didn’t back down and made it a one-possession game, 43-41, after Layne Nordstrom hit a 3 with 19.7 seconds left.

Swanson, who finished with 11 points, and Ella Pawelczyk each hit free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

“We pride ourselves in being a really good free-throw shooting team,” said Libertyville coach Greg Pederson, whose team is now 7-4, 4-0. “We think we have a chance to be one of our school’s best ever because we have a lot of solid free-throw shooters.”

Elinor Lindal had 10 points for Libertyville, while Madison Sears added 6 points and 10 rebounds.

Libertyville entered the game off a 52-25 victory over Stevenson. Lake Zurich, however, brought the defense, holding a Wildcats team that averaged 52.5 points per game to 18 at the half. This marks only the third time this season the Wildcats were held to less than 50.

“That is a Lake Zurich game,” Pederson said. “They take you out of what you want to do. A normal drive we get against most teams, you wind up trying to shoot over a 6-foot-2 girl at the end of your drive. Their lineup and their roster naturally changes how we have to score, and it takes a little bit of time to get used to it.”

Molly Friesen led the Bears with 12 points, along with four rebounds and three assists, while Nordstom added 10 points.

“That was a fun high school basketball game,” Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said. “Two good teams going at it. A nice crowd on a Friday night. We just couldn’t get over that last hump. We finally got the lead and they responded. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

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