Libertyville gets the message, pulls away from Conant

With her team having just mustered 4 points in the first quarter and being victimized, too, by an "excuse-me" 3-pointer by Conant's Kim Davis, a steamed Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson glared at her seated basketball players and asked rhetorically, "Who wants to play?"

Only center Leah Kruckman, sitting next to her other four teammates in the game, raised her hand, and the senior did so timidly.

"We were scared to raise our hand," point guard Savannah Trees said.

The Wildcats got the message, eventually.

They finally got the ball in the basket, too, and won 41-24 on first-day action of Mundelein's Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic on Saturday.

Libertyville improved to 8-4 with its third straight win. The Wildcats would appear to be a candidate to win the championship of the 16-team tourney.

"Do I think we have the potential to be with the best teams in this tournament? Yes, I do," Swanson said. "But we got to bring it every night, and that consistency hasn't always been there."

Conant (3-8) led 8-4 after one quarter and 14-10 at halftime, but couldn't contain Libertyville in the second half.

"That's how we play," Cougars coach Dan Travers said. "We play hard defense and try to take care of the ball. We're searching for some points. It's a work in progress. The kids are working hard."

Davis came off the bench to lead Conant in scoring with a game-high 11 points, as she sank three 3-pointers. Her first 3 drew some laughs.

As the clock was winding down in the opening quarter, the senior stood in the left corner and tried lobbing the ball toward the basket. Instead, the ball went through the net.

"It wasn't intended," said Davis, whose two other 3s were more conventional. "But it was awesome that it happened.

"I was just trying to make a lob pass to a girl coming around and I was thinking, 'Oh my God, it's going to hit the rim,' but it went in. ... I just rocketed it right in. I've never done that before."

"I thought we were on a roll there," Travers said with a smile. "I thought we had destiny."

But after shooting 4 of 27 in the first half, Libertyville got on a roll. Trees' 3 midway through the third gave the Wildcats an 18-17 lead. She then canned another long shot.

Libertyville outscored Conant 20-5 in the fourth, with Trees scoring half of her team-high 10 points, Olivia Wilcox netting all 5 of hers and Katelynn Jennings hitting her second 3 of the half.

Kruckman and Kaca Savatic (7 rebounds) added 8 and 7 points, respectively, for Libertyville.

"We were playing really slow defense in the first half," said Trees, who also had 3 steals. "We weren't closing out and we didn't have much help (defense). In the second half, we came out strong, but our shots outside weren't falling so we looked to drive more. And our defense was much better."