Girls basketball: Libertyville handles Mundelein in battle for NSC lead

Quickly canning two 3-pointers during the first minute of play, Libertyville jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over Mundelein and never looked back for a 51-29 North Suburban Conference win Friday night.

With the victory, the Wildcats took sole possession of first place, raising their league mark to 5-0. Mundelein’s first conference loss of the season dropped the Mustangs to second place (4-1).

Lily Fisher and Ella Pawelczyk, who combined for 31 points, canned the treys in the first 59 seconds of play. Fisher scored a game-high 21 points for the Wildcats while Pawelczyk tallied 11.

At halftime, Libertyville (9-2) led 31-11 over the host Mustangs.

In addition to scoring from the 3-point line in the first half, Libertyville executed a strong inside game by successfully driving the lane for layups and grabbing offensive rebounds for putbacks.

“We were moving the ball really well, setting good screens, and everything else took care of itself,” Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. “We were also sharing the ball. We know that Lily can shoot whenever she wants to, but she's also going to set other people up as well.”

Mundelein (10-2) had an uncharacteristic off night.

“Credit to Libertyville. I thought that they executed and we didn't. So, I mean, we prepared a lot and I didn't feel like we demonstrated who we are,” said Mundelein coach Sarah Teipel.

“We had a strong start this season (10-0) for a reason. So they're all very disappointed. I don't think we were ourselves for most of that game. We were hesitant and didn't execute the things we kind of discussed as a group.”

Mundelein rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Libertyville 13-8, but still trailed 39-25 to start the fourth quarter.

“The third quarter was more of who we are,” Teipel said. “But when you get down 20 points to a great team, it's hard to battle back.”

Casey Vyverman, the Mustangs’ top scorer, notched seven of her team-high 11 points in the third quarter.

Libertyville junior Kateryan Castro was tasked with guarding Vyverman, a Western Michigan University commit.

“Kateryan played fantastic defense. She was really energetic and really did a good job,” Pedersen said.

“I honestly think that it was moving my feet and not letting her get past me,” Castro said about guarding Vyverman. “And not going too up on her.”

The junior also scored seven points for Libertyville.

Pawelczyk scored 10 points in the first half.

“We get good minutes from Ella. She is a senior leader for us,” said Pedersen. “And I thought she shot the ball pretty well tonight.”

Libertyville’s Elle Knight was a major force on the defensive side of the court.

“Elle Knight is fighting inside really hard,” said the Wildcats coach. “She played a lot of good minutes for us in the post tonight.”