Lake County girls basketball notes: Vernon Hills, Libertyville, Wauconda in control of conference races

The Vernon Hills girls basketball team finds itself in the thick of a conference title race as the second half of the season swings into full gear.

The Cougars (14-4 overall) started the week a perfect 6-0 in Central Suburban League North Division action with Highland Park (5-1) and Maine West out of Des Plaines (4-2) in the mix as well. Vernon Hills beat Highland Park 63-31 on the road already and downed Maine West 48-32 on the road. The Cougars have conference games with both teams at home still, as well as road games at Niles West (0-6) and Niles North (1-5) left. Vernon Hills won the first Niles North matchup 41-36.

Madison Mays had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds in a recent 50-36 win against Maine East, while Eve Engler had 16 points and 7 rebounds and Keira Thomas had 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Engler leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game, while Thomas is at 10 points a game. Mays is the team’s top rebounder at 8.2 per contest. Engler also shoots a team-high 36% from 3, while Reagan Brettner shoots 35% from 3.

Brettner, who comes off the bench, also averages 4.3 rebounds. “With one of our best rebounders unavailable for the last 3 games, Reagan has picked up the rebounding slack,” Paul Brettner said.

Additionally, Emma Jocson started the week with a nearly 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Antioch update: The Sequoits were 2-2 in their first 4 games in January and started the week 8-12 overall and 4-3 in Northern Lake County Conference action.

Coach Jamie D’Andrea noted sophomore point guard Evie Baronello has been turning it up on offense of late. During a recent 7-game span, Baronello averaged 8.3 points and had a pair of 12-point games.

Sophomore Reese Queensland has been strong for Antioch off the bench. “Reese is putting up good numbers as she settles into her role on the varsity team,” D’Andrea said.

In a recent game against Prairie Ridge, Queensland had a varsity career-high 10 points to go with 6 rebounds and 2 steals, “proving she is a threat on both ends of the floor,” D’Andrea said.

Heidi Rathmann leads Antioch in scoring (17 points per game) and rebounding (7.3). Scarlett Carroll averages 7.3 points and leads the way with 3.1 assists per game. Addie Webb averages a team-high 2.8 steals.

Carmel Catholic update: The Corsairs started the week having won 8 of their last 10 games to sit at 15-5 overall and 5-1 in East Suburban Catholic play.

Since the Christmas break, coach Ben Berg’s team downed Joliet Catholic (62-41), Lake Forest Academy (61-32), St. Viator (55-27) and Barrington (57-34), while losing an ESCC game to Nazareth Academy (46-23).

Freshman Liv Johnson averages 18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.9 deflections. Since the Christmas tournament, Johnson is shooting .646 from 2, .524 from 3 (.609 total from the floor) and .750 from the foul line. “Mostly from great shot selection,” Berg pointed out.

Senior Josie Hartman averages 2.6 assists, while freshman Ada Lindal has averaged 5.6 points on .500 from the field, .570 from 3 and hasn’t missed a foul shot since Carmel’s Christmas tournament. Junior Maliyah Mays averaged 2.8 steals and 3.6 deflections during a recent 5-game span. “Maliyah’s on-ball defense has been elite in the last 5 games since Christmas,” Berg said.

Grayslake Central update: The Rams (9-8 overall) sit in second place in the Northern Lake County Conference at 6-1, a game behind unbeaten Wauconda after a 56-45 loss to the Bulldogs in a matchup of league unbeatens. Central also beat Grant (49-39) and Lakes (53-36) in NLCC recent play.

Peyton Hoffmann leads Central in scoring (13.6 points per game), rebounding (6.7 per game) and assists (2.2 per game), while Autnm Aliff leads in steals at 2.3.

“Autumn has done a great job coming off the bench and giving the team a great all-around effort,” Central coach Steve Ikenn said. “She has really picked up her scoring since the new year.”

In January, Aliff is averaging 5.3 points per game and on the season sits at 3.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 steals.

Grayslake North update: The Knights started the week winners of 6 of their last 9 to move to 8-12 overall and 4-2 in Northern Lake County play.

Lucy Roscoe is the team’s leading scorer at 14.1 points, while also averaging 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.5 steals. Ashlyn Stoneham averages 13.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.7 steals.

Mia Gumapas averaged 1 made three in a recent 6-game stretch. “Mia has put in a ton of work in the offseason,” North coach Sean Crary said.

Crary also cited strong play off the bench from Sara Carrasco. “Sara comes in, rebounds, uses pass fakes and handles the ball well,” he said. “She is an instant energizer and plays hard.”

Crary was thrilled with the team’s effort against Antioch recently where it shot 11-for-23 from 3 and had 13 assisted hoops. “We had our first-big time shooting game in our win against Antioch,” he said. “We look forward to building on that approach and continue to put pressure on our opponents’ defenses.”

Lakes update: The Eagles stood at 5-13 overall and 2-5 in NLCC play earlier this week. Lakes recently squared off against the likes of Cary-Grove, Antioch, Grant and Grayslake Central.

“We are in a tough stretch right now facing some of the best 3A teams in the area,” Lakes coach Grant Murray said. “It’s great experience for our young team.”

Freshman Gianna Gray leads the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game, while sophomore Ryan Horvath averages 10.7 points. Freshman Natalie Floren averages a team-best 6 rebounds, while Gray and Horvath are tied for the team lead in steals at 2.9 per game.

In the game against Central, Gray and Horvath each had 12 points, while Floren added 8 points and Ella Egmer took 2 charges.

Murray pointed out Horvath has been on a hot streak getting to the basket. She also had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Antioch and 19 points (2-for-3 from 3) against Grant.

Speaking of Egmer, a sophomore, Murray noted she’s been a spark off the bench for Lakes. “Ella plays tough defense and isn’t afraid to put her body on the line,” he said. “She leads the team in charges taken and plays and supports her teammates with great energy.”

Lake Zurich update: The Bears came out of the Christmas break with North Suburban Conference wins against Zion and Mundelein to move to 11-7 overall and 6-1 in the league.

Leah Gilbertson leads Lake Zurich in scoring at 11.1 points, while Alex Nowak-Tice is right behind at 10.2 and leads the team in rebounding at 8.4 per game. Layne Nordstrom averages a team-high 4.1 assists.

Coach Chris Bennett was impressed with the 17-point effort Addie Leonard had in the Zion game. “Addie is getting her legs back after missing the first two months of the season,” he said.

Junior Lexi Kahle, Bennett noted, has done a great job as the sixth player off the bench and as a spot starter. “Lexi is a competitor who plays great defense and has a rapidly improving jump shot,” Bennett said.

Libertyville update: Ella Pawelczyk had a game for the ages against Waukegan recently. Pawelczyk poured in 32 points and hit 10 three-pointers in the win.

The 32 points is the third-most in Libertyville single-game history, trailing only Mary Munsch’s 46 points against Fenton back in the 1979-1980 season and Peggy Boyes 39-point output against Deerfield in the 1974-1975 season.

“I give most of the credit to my teammates,” said Pawelczyk, who is pretty sure her previous high-school high-scoring game was 17 points. “We’ve been working on extra passes to the open shooter and they did just that. Every time I was open, they were able to find me and help me create a shot. Waukegan zoned us so we knew there were going to be open gaps and that we had to find the open player. Elle Knight played in the middle of the zone and did amazing kicking the ball out to me after getting a pass in the middle. Overall, the team was clicking throughout the whole game. I wasn’t the only one knocking down shots. I think our successes defensively aided in our confidence shooting on offense.”

The 10 threes in a game is a new school record, besting the old mark of 7 held by Lydia Crow in a game against Hoffman Estates in the 2016-2017 season.

“Ten 3-pointers in one game has honestly never been a thought that crossed my mind before that game,” Pawelczyk said. “I came into the season knowing I was going to be a 3-point shooter, but not to this extent. Even during our warmups of that game, I was shooting pretty average so once my shots started falling in the game, I decided I was going to keep shooting. Coach (Greg) Pedersen always says shooters shoot, and even if the first couple shots don’t fall that I should always continue to shoot. In this case, my shots were falling, but his words always motivate me and give me the confidence I need to not get in my head on an off day.”

Pawelczyk, who credited her dad for helping her stay committed to the development and consistency of her 3-point shot, particularly over the Christmas break, estimated she had 4 or 5 threes by halftime. “I assumed Waukegan would be drawing up plans to try and stop me,” she said. “When the third quarter started and I was open and I knocked down another 3, that’s when I knew I was in the groove and would continue shooting until someone stopped me.”

The Wildcats started the week 14-3 overall and leading the North Suburban Conference at 7-0 thanks to recent wins against Waukegan and Zion. Libertyville was on an 8-1 run to start the week, the only setback coming to Mother McAuley in the title game of its own Rustoleum Winter Classic.

Lily Fisher, who scored 32 points Tuesday against Prospect to reach 1,000 for her career, is leading the Wildcats in scoring at 18.7 points per game, while Pawelczyk averages 10.8 points. Knight leads in rebounding at 6.1, while Fisher (5.4) and Addie Casey (5.0) are also contributors on the glass. Fisher leads the team in assists (3.2), while Jenna Stowe averages 2.1 assists.

“We have been able to come together after facing adversity early on in the season,” Pawelczyk said. “Some of our key players were out before the season even started due to injuries, but the way people have stepped up and helped lead our team to success shows the grit our team has. I genuinely look forward to coming to practices and games because of how much fun we have. The growth we have had from November until now is easily visible on the court. I am so excited to see the progress we will make as the season progresses.”

Mundelein update: Senior Casey Vyverman leads the Mustangs (13-7, 5-2 North Suburban) in scoring at 18 points per game, while also averaging 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Vyverman also shoots 92% from the free-throw line (49 of 53) and coach Sarah Teipel noted Vyverman’s confidence has helped her in the overall shooting department.

Grace Dunigan also has been key for Mundelein at 10 points and 5 rebounds per game, while Anayha Castro averages 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3.4 deflections and 2 steals. Freshman Gabby Macapiniac also has been helping. “Gabby is a strong ball handler, downhill driver, defender and shooter,” Teipel said.

Round Lake update: Panthers coach Molly Hennig said Justyce Bills has emerged as a reliable presence off the bench.

“Justyce has been one of our more consistent outside shooters, provides an immediate defensive spark and has shown significant improvement on the boards,” she said.

Kaleigh Skowronski leads Round Lake in scoring at 10.6 points, while also averaging 4.7 rebounds. Hennig added Emma Franks continues to impact the game on both ends of the floor, averaging 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.4 deflections and 3.4 steals. Hennig noted Brianna Arteaga has been a steady contributor, averaging 6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.6 deflections and 3.3 steals for the Panthers (6-10, 1-6 Northern Lake County).

Wauconda update: The winning faucet continues to stay in the on position for the Bulldogs, who started the week unbeaten at 17-0 and were 7-0 in Northern Lake County Conference action after victories against Round Lake (49-19), Grayslake Central (58-45), Lake Forest (52-40) and North Chicago (66-20).

The win over Grayslake Central, coach Jaime Dennis noted, was Wauconda’s first against the Rams in the 20-plus years she has been involved in with the varsity program. It’s also the first time the Bulldogs have been 17-0 in that span.

During a recent 3-game run, guards Alexia Manalo and Avery Geoghan have stepped up their scoring, each averaging more than 10 points per game and shooting over 50% from the field. Manalo had a career-high 18 points against Lake Forest, while Geoghan led the Bulldogs with 17 points against Central.

In that same timeframe, Geoghan averaged 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2 steals. “In those last 3 games, Avery is really making a difference,” Dennis said.

Dennis noted first-year varsity guard Kelsey Funkhouser, a junior, is coming off the bench and doing big things. “Kelsey was huge in the Grayslake game when Alessandra Rodriguez got in foul trouble,” she explained. “We needed someone to guard (Central standout) Peyton Hoffmann. We have come to rely on her as a shutdown defender, but she can also make some baskets. She is a soccer player who uses that field experience to read the ball so well and play great defense.”

In the North Chicago win, Geoghan had 17 points and hit three 3s. Lily Patzer and Isabela Campdesuner each had 10 points. Funkhouser added 8 points, including a 6-for-6 performance from the foul line, to go with 5 rebounds. Sophie Giles had 7 points.