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Girls basketball: Grayslake Central continues dominant run in NLCC

The Northern Lake County Conference girls basketball game and Grayslake Central had a delayed start Saturday afternoon at Antioch.

Antioch came out and scored the first 6 points after tipoff was held up for 20 minutes for all three officials to arrive. But the Rams quickly got up to speed to win their 32nd consecutive NLCC game 68-40.

“We started a little slow and I don’t think the delay helped us out,” said Central senior Madison Hoffmann. “Once we got the energy back it helped put us on track.”

Annie Wolff had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Wisconsin-Green Bay-bound Hoffmann had 13 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds as the Rams (21-5, 11-0) came out of an early timeout on a 23-3 tear for their 18th win in 20 games.

“They played hard and came out really well,” Central coach Steve Ikenn of Antioch. “They caught us a little bit on our heels and then we went on a pretty nice run.

“They were ready for the game. We responded extremely well and I was proud of how we responded and played.”

Especially with a big first-quarter spark off the bench from junior Ava Henne and sophomores Lauren Anguilm and Addi Thomas. The 5-foot-5 Henne, who Ikenn called “just a machine defensively,” didn’t back down from the challenge of guarding 5-11 junior scoring leader Heidi Rathmann (8 points on 3-for-14 shooting).

Hoffmann, who set the school’s single-game assist record with 11 Wednesday against North Chicago, complimented Anguilm’s early impact inside. Thomas hit the first of her two 3-pointers for a 14-8 lead and sophomore Autumn Aliff came in before halftime and contributed a nice reverse baseline drive.

“Everyone does their part and that’s the key to our success,” Wolff said. “We’ve been playing with each other for so long. The team chemistry is clearly there within the team.”

Antioch (11-12, 8-4) lost the first meeting 60-22 but used some early defensive pressure for the 6-0 start behind Rathmann and sophomore Scarlett Carroll (8 points, 10 rebounds). Carroll found Tess DeLao (8 points) for a layup and an 8-5 lead but the Rams scored 18 of the next 19 points.

Sophomore Heaven Nix added 6 points and 7 rebounds for the Sequoits.

“We played a great first half and I’m so proud of them,” said Antioch coach Jamie D’Andrea. “It was awesome and they worked hard. We talked about making sure we took care of the ball and making the right plays.”

The Rams broke out to a 34-18 halftime lead and started the second half on a 14-2 tear. They shot 54.4% from the field (25-for-46) and 8-for-15 from 3 point range.

Katelyn Marcelain (7 points) and Peyton Hoffmann (6 points) did all their scoring in the third quarter. Mosey Drevline added 7 points and 4 assists for the Rams, who have a big NLCC matchup at 4:30 p.m. next Saturday at Wauconda (19-2, 10-1).

“Everyone’s goal is to play their best basketball at the end of the season,” Madison Hoffmann said. “I think that’s where we’re at right now.”

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