Gracey LePage sparks Crystal Lake South defense against Grayslake North
With Crystal Lake South struggling from 3-point range, Gracey LePage became the defensive catalyst for a team needing a spark during Tuesday’s girls basketball game against Grayslake North.
Playing nearly the entire second half, LePage scored eight points off the bench and ignited Crystal Lake South’s zone pressure on defense. LePage, a Michigan State soccer recruit, forced multiple turnovers and helped steer the Gators to a 54-44 win during the semifinal round of McHenry’s Northern Illinois Holiday Classic.
“When I go in, I want to make as big of an impact as I can,” LePage said. “We have really good players, so I want to feed them the ball and do my job on defense to create plays for them. Coming out with energy is what I do... We ended up trusting ourselves and our shots weren’t falling, but we had to play hard on defense.”
Crystal Lake South (9-2), which opened the game on a 7-0 run, will advance and face either Wauconda or Deerfield in the finals on Thursday evening. The Gators slowed Grayslake North (4-10) down early with their full-court zone pressure, but the Knights managed to counter Crystal Lake South’s defense with 3-point shooting.
The Gators, meanwhile, couldn’t find any shooting rhythm in the first half, making just one 3-pointer despite creating open looks with quick inside-out ball movement. Grayslake North, which went on a 10-3 run to close the first quarter, drained five triples in the first half and tracked down a large number of Crystal Lake South’s missed shots. After one half, the Gators trailed the Knights 23-18.
A pair of bank shots in the third quarter helped Grayslake North maintain a slim lead over the Gators, who kept pace by working their offense inside through 6-foot sophomore Gaby Dzik. Dzik, who led Crystal Lake South with 19 points while adding three rebounds and two assists, scored 12 of her points in the second half, using her length to make layups and floaters around the rim.
“Our shots weren’t falling, so we had to find another way to score if we wanted to win,” said senior guard Laken LePage, who finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. “Defense is key and we have to play hard on defense, but putting the ball in the hoop is what we need, so those inside shots needed to fall.”
Crystal Lake South tied the score late in the third quarter, when Dzik sent a clean bounce pass to teammate Makena Cleary for a layup to make it 34-34. The Gators, who cranked up the energy level on defense in the second half, added a pair of layups off turnovers to carry a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
“The hard defense translated into good opportunities for us and we ended up making those opportunities,” said Gracey LePage, who had all eight of her points in the second half. When we flip to a different zone, the other team comes out a little scared and we definitely scared them. It changed up their philosophy on offense."
Despite an excellent shooting performance from guards Ashlyn Stoneham and Lucy Roscoe, who combined for 33 points and drilled seven of Grayslake North’s eight triples, the Knights lost steam in the fourth quarter, where turnovers mounted and Crystal Lake South capitalized. Back-to-back layups by Gracey LePage, off turnovers, put the Gators ahead 45-36 and forced a timeout.
“The intensity with Gracey on the floor really helps us,” Laken LePage said. “She’s on the ball so we can do less and she does the most work, so she deserves props for that. She motivated us to keep it going and bring the intensity up on defense.”
Stoneham totaled 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Roscoe scored 16 points and Jane Pritchard grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, including five in the first quarter, for Grayslake North. Tessa Melhuish nabbed 11 rebounds for the Gators, who will play for the tournament championship at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.