Martino keys Wauconda win

Tammy Ellis watched Wauconda's season-opening girls basketball game from the bench wearing street clothes Monday night.

Yes, the junior guard is back, so that's good for the Bulldogs, who opened with a 38-27 win over visiting Crystal Lake Central. But her back? That's bad.

An off-season injury has kept Ellis off the court. A starter since her freshman year, she's one of the quicker guards in the North Suburban Conference, with the ability to rack up both steals and points quickly.

"We're pretty much taking it slow, very conservative," second-year coach Jaime Dennis said.

"It's something she's had problems with in the past. So let her heal 100 percent and then we'll be ready to go."

How long Ellis will be sidelined is uncertain.

"The doctor said maybe two weeks, but we're going on three now," said Dennis, whose Bulldogs play Grayslake Central to open the Marian Central tournament on Thursday.

"We've practiced and gotten used to not having her, so once we get her back, it's going to be quite a treat."

Senior Kate Martino, the Bulldogs' starting point guard since her freshman season, led Wauconda against Crystal Lake Central with a game-high 18 points. She shot 6 of 12 from the floor and went 6 of 6 from the foul line. She also had 3 steals.

Sophomore guard Diana Enriquez added 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals coming off the bench for Wauconda, which missed its first 6 shots and trailed 6-0.

"We expected that," Dennis said of the slow start.

"Jitters, excitement. For a lot of girls, this was their first varsity game. So we expected hot potato with the ball and a little anxiousness on defense. Then they settled down the second half and played a nice game."

Martino had 8 points and 2 steals in the third quarter, as Wauconda erased a 16-15 halftime deficit to lead 27-20 entering the fourth.

Crystal Lake Central received 11 points apiece from Nelie Youel and Erin Frazier.

Vernon Hills 53, Lake Forest Academy 24: With three players in double figures, the Cougars cruised. Alana Coy led the way with 18 points and 4 steals. Jessica Feece added 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals and Meri Bennett-Swanson finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Grayslake North 50, Oswego East 49: At the Mundelein Turkey Shootout, Grayslake North trailed for three quarters before outscoring Oswego East by 7 points in the fourth quarter to get the razor-thin victory. The Knights got a team-high 24 points out of Kinsey Siler and 18 points from Lauren Erickson. Jourdan Jackson scored a game-high 26 points for Oswego East.

Highland Park 46, Mundelein 39: At the Mundelein Turkey Shootout, Olivia Dunigan was the only player to finish in double figures for the Mustangs. She had 10 points. Jessi Bjerning and Brooke Evans each had 9 points for Mundelein.

Fremd 55, Grant 32: Grant got a team-high 11 points from Heather Chapman but couldn't overcome a slow start. Fremd ended the first quarter up 22-3.