Girls basketball roundup: Fremd, Prospect, Libertyville among favorites rolling in regional openers
Girls basketball regional play heated up Monday and Tuesday with top seeds Fremd, Prospect, Libertyville, Maine South, Stevenson, Hersey and Rolling Meadows posting easy wins.
Class 4A
Lake Zurich 51, Warren 20: Lake Zurich (23-7) beat Warren for the third time this season. Molly Friesen led the way with 14 points for the Bears while Alex Nowak-tice had 11 points and Leah Gilberston chipped in 9. Warren (4-27) was led by Kamaria Anderson who had 8 points.
Waukegan 40, Mundelein 37: After splitting their two regular season North Suburban conference matchups, Waukegan (18-9) came away with the victory in the playoffs at Lake Zurich. Mundelein finished the season at 19-13.
Libertyville 66, Round Lake 15: Elinor Lindal (26-5) had 17 points and Ella Pawelczyk 11 as the Wildcats easily advanced on Monday.
Carmel 67, Grant 29: Carmel (15-16) advanced Monday and will play Libertyville Thursday for the regional title.
Glenbrook North 56, Maine West 27: Maine West (8-20) came up short in their playoff game.
Lane 67, Maine East 51: Lane had too much firepower for Maine East (14-17).
Maine South 68, Niles North 17: Maine South (23-9) won big over the Vikings at the Leyden regional.
Highland Park 50, Leyden 49: Central Suburban North champion Highland Park (20-8) held off host Leyden (21-11).
Fremd 90, Elgin 27: Mid-Suburban League champion and Barrington sectional top seed Fremd (25-5) was too much for the Maroons.
Fremd was led by Greta Thompson, who had all 20 of her points in the first half. Nicole Wulfram had 15 points, knocking down 5 three-pointers in the process while Gracie Todd had 13 points, all of which came in the first half.
Conant 54, South Elgin 46: Conant (15-14) used a big third quarter to highlight its victory. Arianna Dugo led the Cougars with 13 points. Kanna Bradarich had 11 points while Gianna Fresso and Annabel Danso each had 10 points.
Stevenson 60, Schaumburg 15: Stevenson (20-11) raced to a 34-5 halftime lead and coasted from there.
Rolling Meadows 59, Streamwood 33: Meadows (21-8) jumped out to a 28-18 halftime lead. Meadows was led by Nell Osterhues, who had 15 points. Iris Jordan added 12 points, Lizzy Andriano 9 points, Dalia Grandberyy 9 points and 14 rebounds while Anna Andriano had 6 points and 4 assists.
Prospect 52, Dundee-Crown 7: Prospect (25-7) rolled on Monday and is one win short of tying a school record for wins.
Palatine 38, Hampshire 30: Molly Pieper scored 9 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Pirates (16-16) advanced to the regional championship game Thursday against Prospect.
Hersey 58, Elgin Larkin 20: Hersey (20-11) took off for a 29-6 halftime lead and never looked back. Kate Donovan had 20 points and Sadie Marks 17 for the Huskies.
Barrington 46, Buffalo Grove 41: Barrington (15-16) held off a late run by Buffalo Grove (12-19) to advance to the regional finals. Ashley Mahlum scored 17 points and Lily Richmond added 13 for Barrington.
Class 3A
Grayslake Central 66, Fenton 17: Top-seeded Grayslake Central (25-5) picked up an easy win Monday.
Antioch 59, Northside 35: Antioch (14-12) also won easily Monday to earn a rematch with Grayslake Central on Thursday for the regional title.
St. Viator 51, Amundsen 36: Trailing 26-25 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, St. Viator went on a 15-0 run to pull away. Ava Garcia led Viator with 26 points and 12 rebounds while Kalin McCrea and Bella Gounaris each had 7 points.
Vernon Hills 57, Lakes 35: With the game tied at 19-19 at the half, Vernon Hills outscored Lakes 22-8 in the third quarter to pull away for the win. Vernon Hills (20-11) was led by Keira Thomas, who had 17 points. Lakes (11-17) was led Kaylie Schneider’s 13 points and Kaylee Anderson’s 11 points and 5 rebounds.
Cary-Grove 65, Grayslake North 30: Grayslake North (10-22) was eliminated Monday.
Wauconda 61, Deerfield 41: After trailing 13-12 after one quarter, Wauconda (23-3) exploded for a 22-point second quarter and were on its way for the victory. Grace Parker led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 9 rebounds while Emma Wisniewski had 12 points and Alexia Manalo 10 points and 4 assists.