Girls basketball: Lake Zurich surges past Mundelein in second half

Whatever Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said to his team at halftime worked in the second half.

Trailing Mundelein 23-21 at the half, the host Bears outscored the Mustangs 27-13 during the final 16 minutes.

The result was a 48-36 win in a North Suburban Conference tilt Friday night.

"Mundelein played a good first half and made shots," said the Lake Zurich coach. “We contested their shots in the second half and executed our offense better.”

The Bears (11-7, 6-1) seized control in the third quarter.

Lake Zurich made 6-of-10 from the field and was 2-of-2 from 3-point range to outscore the Mustangs 15-3 and lead 36-26 heading into the fourth quarter.

Mundelein only managed 1 basket in 10 attempts and committed 7 turnovers in the pivotal third quarter.

Layne Nordstrom and Addison Leonard each scored 5 points in the third quarter with 3-pointers in the quarter.

The Mustangs (13-7, 5-2) got within 38-31 on a 3-pointer by Casey Vyverman with 3:46 left in the game.

Mundelein couldn't get any closer.

The Bears were led by Nordstrom with 12 points and 5 assists.

"Coach told us at halftime we had to execute better on offense and rebound better," said Nordstrom. “We played more as a team in the second half."

Alex Nowak-Tice added 12 points with 8 rebounds for the winners.

"My job is to rebound and hit the boards," said Nowak-Tice. "I want to get every rebound."

Leonard scored 9 points with 5 rebounds for the Bears.

"We played the game at our pace in the first half," said Mundelein coach Sarah Teipel. “We played hard but we need to play more efficient for four quarters. We can learn from this loss."

Vyverman led the Mustangs with 19 points which included three 3-pointers.

"Casey is a great leader," said Teipel. “She is a vocal leader with high standards."

Grace Dunigan added 11 points for Mundelein.