Libertyville's shared effort leads to decisive victory
Well, no wonder they play so well together.
This Libertyville girls basketball team has been playing together since the fifth grade.
OK, not all 15 players can claim this shared background, but a good majority of them date back to elementary school.
The home-standing Wildcats (4-5, 3-0) were on pace to score 80 points after the opening quarter.
It was grandparents' night at Libertyville on Friday night. The two inside powers of Libertyville (Claire Keefe and Caroline Frea) combined to match visiting Warren in the scoring department as the Wildcats had a decisive win, 53-34, in North Suburban Lake play.
"We have a good chemistry with the girls,'' Frea said. "We've been playing together since the fifth grade and all that time together makes us even tougher."
Warren (3-7, 1-3) allowed 20 first-quarter points but managed to score 13 themselves in that span and stayed in the game. Rising star, Kaylen Dickson, had 7 of those points.
"Our game plan was to protect the paint,'' said Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz. "But we didn't box people out or set screens on offense. We are still playing with sophomores, and we are still learning."
Libertyville missed its first 2 shots of the second quarter. And then the Cats took turns putting the ball in the hoop.
Riley Weis nailed 4 straight free throws. Frea also had a personal 4-point run. When Molly Cayce drilled in the lone 3-pointer of the game, the Cats' lead was expanding. Keefe had 13 of her game-high 20 points in the opening half, and the Cats' lead was 20 at 38-18.
"We really help each other out,'' Keefe said. "Our guards make great passes to us. We are really playing well as a team and sharing the ball well."
The third quarter was played fairly evenly played by both clubs. Dickson had 6 of her team-high 16 points in this quarter.
"She's really a slasher going to the basket,'' Stanczykiewicz said. "She's inside-oriented now."
That other Warren standout is guard, Jordyn Hughes. She made 5 straight free throws in the first half and finished with 10 points.
With the Cats in control at 51-28 heading to the final quarter, both coaches cleared their benches. Frea's rebound bucket halfway through the fourth quarter was the Cats' lone basket. Hughes and teammate Kiara Mabien had the only baskets for Warren.
Libertyville again had to play without point guard, Maggie Piazzi (wrist).
Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen was pleased with his team's work on the defensive side.
"Claire and Caroline both have strong skills underneath,'' Pedersen said. "It's nice when we can get them the ball inside to them."
Keefe finished with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Frea checked in with 14 points and 6 boards, while Allison Watson added 6 points and 4 rebounds for the Cats.