Grant 65, Round Lake 56

There was plenty of passion in Grant's gym for Tuesday's girls basketball game against Round Lake.

"In the beginning I wondered why they pulled out the (bleachers) on both sides, but they (ended up) being full," Grant senior Jamie Swanson said. "The crowd was going back and forth. It felt like a guys game."

The Grant faithful was treated to a 65-56 victory, which secured the Bulldogs' fourth consecutive North Suburban Conference Prairie Division title. Grant (23-3, 11-0) wraps up division play Saturday at Vernon Hills. Round Lake fell to 20-4, 8-3.

The victory, though, was far from easy for Grant. Both teams played extremely physical and the game was much closer than the final score indicates.

"The momentum was in Round Lake's favor in the third quarter," Grant coach Tom Oeffling said. "Our girls proved their mettle in the fourth quarter. They didn't make many mistakes."

No one rose to the occasion more than Grant senior Autumn Gaylor. The 6-foot-1 forward was a force on the boards all game and scored a career-high 21 points.

"She was disappointed with the way she played at Lake Zurich (on Friday), and she really took that to heart," Oeffling said. "This was her best-ever varsity game."

Grant seized control in the second quarter when the Bulldogs used a 15-4 run to take a 34-21 lead. With 0.9 seconds on the clock, Round Lake junior point guard Labrenthia Murdock fouled Swanson in the act of shooting. Murdock then picked up a technical, and Swanson hit 3 of 4 free throws to give the Bulldogs a 37-25 advantage.

"We got down when they made their run," Murdock said. "We had to come out very intense in the second half."

Murdock and the Panthers channeled their frustration into inspired basketball. They picked up full court and at times Grant played out of control. At one point, Grant was called for charging on three consecutive possessions. Round Lake parlayed that with hot shooting and led 44-43 going into the fourth quarter.

"We got after them with (pressure) defense and that gave them some trouble," Round Lake coach Gary Edge said.

During the final eight minutes, Grant played like the veteran team it is. Down 51-50, Gaylor came through with eight consecutive points.

"We kept our heads mentally and really worked the ball around," Gaylor said.

Swanson did not have a two-point field goal but still scored 15 points thanks to two 3-pointers and 9 free throws. Senior Tori Ziegler contributed 11 points off the bench.

Almost half of senior Bailey Wagner's 13 points came on a pair of 3-pointers.

"We don't encourage her to, but she always shoots them in practice," Oeffling said. "I'm happy she (took them) tonight. She has an enormous amount of belief in herself."

Round Lake received 30 points from its starting backcourt of Murdock (17) and senior Brittany Kucia (13).

The Panthers were in the double-bonus three minutes into the fourth quarter but did not take full advantage. Round Lake was 12 of 22 from the line.