Girls basketball notes: Vyverman’s hot hand fuels Mundelein improvement

With Grayslake Central and Libertyville locking up conference titles in the Northern Lake County and North Suburban, respectively, the focus turns to the start of state tournament, which begins Saturday for some schools.

Lake County-area teams are grouped into three sectionals. In Class 4A, Libertyville (No. 1 seed), regional host Lake Zurich (No. 2), Mundelein (No. 3), Carmel (No. 4), Warren (No. 6), Grant (No. 7) and regional host Round Lake (No. 8) are part of sub-sectional A of the Huntley sectional.

Carmel squares off against Grant Monday in the Round Lake regional. Host Lake Zurich and Warren get a third go-around Tuesday in more Lake County-focused regional action.

Stevenson heads to the Barrington sectional as the No. 4 seed and hosts Schaumburg in regional action Tuesday.

In Class 3A, all local teams are part of the North Chicago sectional with Grayslake Central the top seed. Wauconda (No. 2), Vernon Hills (No. 5), Antioch (No. 8), Lakes (No. 11) and Grayslake North (No. 15) round out the local field. Vernon Hills faces Lakes Tuesday at the St. Viator regional in the only Lake County-area matchup out of the gates in the North Chicago complex.

Mundelein update: There have been a lot of positives going on with the Mundelein girls basketball team of late.

On the individual front, junior Casey Vyverman recently scored her 1,000th career varsity point in a game against Downers Grove South and is averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in the team’s last 10 games (19 points, 5.7 rebounds, .927 from the foul line and 70 made 3s overall). “Casey has been doing an amazing job,” Mustangs coach Sarah Teipel said.

Mundelein (19-11, 6-7 and fourth in the North Suburban), also powered by the likes of Grace Dunigan (7 points, 3 rebounds, 1.5 steals) and Adrianna Lesniak (5 points, 5 rebounds), is shooting for 20 wins for the first time since 2013. The Mustangs started the week winners of 6 of its last 8 games, including recent wins over Warren and Buffalo Grove.

Teipel also has been pleased with junior Madeyn Gardner’s “constant tenacious defense and outright hustle,” she said. “She makes everyone around her better through her leadership.”

Lesniak averaged almost 1 charge per game. “Adiranna does all the little things and is a great leader,” Teipel added.

Teipel likes what she has seen between a 13-9 record at one point and the current 19-11 mark. “We are focusing on the daily process, and I have been so proud of their growth and grit,” she said.

Antioch update: Senior Maddie Avila recently returned from an injury that sidelined her since the first game of the season. The 5-5 Avila pulled in 3 rebounds and had a blocked shot in a recent NLCC 2-bucket win against Community High School District 117 rival Lakes.

Freshman Evie Baronello, coach Jamie D’Andrea noted, is becoming acclimated to the varsity squad after a callup from the JV team in mid-January. She averages 2 points and 3 rebounds in limited minutes. “Evie is bringing some solid ball-handling abilities on the offensive end,” she said.

Heidi Rathmann leads Antioch (12-12, 9-4 and third NLCC) in scoring (15.8 points), while Addie Webb is the team’s top rebounder (6.7) and Scarlett Carroll is tops in steals (3 per game) and assists (2.2).

Carmel update: The Corsairs (14-16, 3-9 East Suburban Catholic) have won 7 of their last 10 contests, “and we are playing our best basketball of the year,” coach Ben Berg said.

Juniors Josie Hartman (13.9 points, 2.2 assists) and Maron Bowes (6.1 rebounds), senior Maia Cordova (2 steals per game) and sophomore Grace Booher (2 steals) are Carmel’s statistical leaders. Carmel lost 36-30 to Chicago Heights Marian Catholic Tuesday.

“Maron is one of our captains and supports and connects with everyone on the team,” said Berg, whose team recorded a key ESCC win over St. Viator. “On the floor, she rebounds, sets screens and defends at a very high level. Grace has gotten better every step of the way this season. She is one of the most coachable players I have ever had and works as hard as anybody.”

Grayslake Central update: A few important milestones were achieved for the recently crowned Northern Lake County champions: Annie Wolff (11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds) scored her 1,000th career varsity point in a win against Grant.

Madison Hoffmann recently broke the Central single-game assists record with 11.

The Rams continue to play well on the defensive end, holding foes to an average of 33 points a game. And right there on that front is Ava Henne, coach Steve Ikenn noted.

“Ava plays a huge role for us,” he said. “Whether she starts or comes in off the bench, she provides us with high-energy, lockdown defense. She does whatever the team needs her to do and is an underrated shooter and playmaker.”

Lauren Anguilm also has played well of late, recently recording her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“Lauren has done a great job of coming in and giving the team key minutes in the post,” Ikenn explained. “She is a high-energy defender and rebounder.”

Hoffmann continues to lead the Rams (23-5, 13-0 NLCC) in all statistical categories: 12.5 points per game, 6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3 steals.

Lakes update: A freshman has led the Eagles in scoring 8 different games this season. Freshmen guards Brynn Skinner and Ryan Horvath have played significant roles, coach Grant Murray noted.

Senior Caitlin Bloom leads Lakes in charges taken and is second in rebounding, while Wrenna Streicher, a junior guard, recently had a streak of making at least one 3 in 7 straight games.

“Caitlin has played a key role for us in contributing with stats that might not get noticed as often,” Murray said. “Wrenna comes off the bench and plays good defense.”

Kaylee Anderson leads Lakes (11-14, 6-6 and fourth NLCC) in scoring, rebounding and steals, while Kaylie Schneider is tops in assists and second in scoring and steals.

Lake Zurich update: The Lake Zurich girls basketball team continues to motor forward.

Coach Chris Bennett’s team started the week having won 11 of its last 12 and 16 of its last 18 games after a 5-5 start to sit at 21-7 overall and 10-3 and tied for second in the North Suburban Conference.

One key contributor to that success is lineup balance, Bennett explained. Avery Cooper, Leah Gilbertson (career-high 24 points in a recent win against Palatine where she went 10-for-10 from the foul line in the second half), Alex Nowak-Tice and Molly Friesen all average 9 points a game, while Nowak-Tice and Cooper both average 7 rebounds and Layne Nordstrom is at almost 4 assists per game.

Senior and 3-year varsity player Ramona Foreman has stepped into the team’s seventh-man role following an injury to Addison Leonard. “Ramona steps in and plays big minutes,” Bennett noted. “She has hit some key shots in pressure situations, and can be counted on to guard a shooter from the other team when we need her to. Successful teams have to have kids willing to fit into specific roles in order to be successful, and Ramona does whatever we need her to do.”

Libertyville update: The North Suburban-champion Wildcats (24-5, 13-0) started the week winners of 7 in a row and 19 of their last 20 contests. Libertyville, which scored recent wins over Maine South and New Trier, also finished the season unbeaten at home at 13-0.

Lily Fisher averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in the 2 games against Maine South and New Trier, while senior post Madison Sears averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds per game during that span. Ella Pawelczyk hit two key 3s against Maine South to help secure the victory.

Stevenson update: Nisha Musunuri also went over the 1,000 career point mark in early January, and her 94 points since then has moved her into 12th all-time in program history, passing Patriot great Tamika Catchings.

Musunuri averages 13 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3 assists and has canned 47 threes, while Sydney Rosland averages 10.2 points, 3 assists, 2.6 rebounds and has made 55 threes.

Coach Regan Carmichael, whose team recently defeated York and Mundelein, also has been pleased with the play of Megs Seribo.

“Megs is certainly our glue,” she said. “She is a detail-oriented and high-character kid. She has worked her way into our rotation by focusing on being a great teammate, being coachable and being a warrior. Meg is a standout role model in our community, and I am so very proud of all her hard work.”

Stevenson started the week 18-11 overall and sat tied for second in the North Suburban with Lake Zurich at 10-3.

Vernon Hills update: The Cougars finished in second place in the Central Suburban North at 8-2 and sit at 19-11 after a 45-28 nonconference loss to Maine South Tuesday.

Coach Paul Brettner pointed out Emily Ochieng (5.8 rebounds per game) and Jori Ellen have been two key pieces to the puzzle this season. “Emily is an unsung kid,” he said. “She is a great leader and does a lot of the little things on and off the court that keep our team going in the right direction. Jori has great relationships with everyone and is great for our team chemistry.”

Keira Thomas leads Vernon Hills in scoring (12.4 points), followed by Emma Jocson (10.3). Madison Mays is tops in rebounding (7.2 per game), while Jocson (29%) and Frannie Poulos (27%) have excelled from beyond the 3-point line.

Ellen, Poulos, Morgan Bedell and Alyssa Waitzman were honored on senior night recently against Maine West (win). The Cougars also scored a recent conference win at Maine East.

Wauconda update: The Bulldogs are averaging more than 13 assists per game and have an average margin of victory of 20 points. Wauconda moved to 21-3 after a nonconference win Monday against Warren Township. Wauconda started the week 11-2 in Northern Lake County play with both losses coming to league-champion Grayslake Central.

Coach Jaime Dennis loved how junior first-year varsity player Ashley Maxwell played against Central. She finished with 11 points.

“Ashley has played some reserve minutes throughout the season and is always a reliable rebounder for us,” Dennis explained. “Against Grayslake, she stepped up in a big way when we had a player out sick and early foul trouble. She went into the game at a crucial point and provided a spark for us.”

Grace Parker leads the Bulldogs in scoring (13 points per game), while Emma Wisniewski averages 7 rebounds a game and Alexia Manalo averages 4 assists, 3.7 deflections and 2.7 steals. Parker had 21 points and 11 rebounds against Warren, while Sarah Palmer had 13 points and 4 assists and Wisniewski had 8 points and 9 rebounds.