Girls basketball: Grayslake Central enjoys big finish against Wauconda

After losing to Wauconda on Jan. 9, host Grayslake Central was looking for some revenge against the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in a battle for first place in the Northern Lake County Conference.

Wauconda went on an 8-point run to take a 1-point lead over the Rams midway through the third quarter. But the Bulldogs missed their next 15 shots after that, and Grayslake Central went on a 14-1 run en route to a 45-30 NLCC victory.

It looks like there might be a tie for the NLCC championship. The Rams (17-9, 12-1) host Lakes in their final conference game on Wednesday, while Wauconda (22-2, 12-1) hosts North Chicago.

A 6-point run to end the third quarter gave Grayslake Central a 29-24 lead before a free throw by junior Peyton Hoffmann (game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals) tied the Rams' biggest lead of the game at 37-25 with 2:17 to play.

Starting in place of injured starter Bailey Betts for the second straight game, Grayslake Central freshman Lucy Otoo had a big game with 12 points and 9 rebounds, including the first six points of the fourth quarter to give her team a 35-24 lead.

“We just kept our energy, the crowd was awesome, and we kept playing as a team to pull through,” said Otoo, whose team outrebounded Wauconda 38-35. “We just came and played our team basketball, we worked together, and we didn't stop the momentum.”

Wauconda has been without all-conference senior Sarah Palmer since beating the Rams 56-45 in the first meeting. Senior point guard Alexia Manalo led the Bulldogs with 10 points while teammate Alessandra Rodriguez scored 6 points before fouling out late in the game along with two teammates. Wauconda's win over the Rams on Jan. 9 was the first time they had beaten them in well over 20 years.

“We talked about playing better help-side defense and we were giving up a little too much dribble penetration,” said Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn, whose team outscored the Bulldogs 16-6 in the fourth quarter. “(Wauconda) played good defense, and they collapsed on us, which forced us into some bad shots, so we kind of settled that down.”

Senior Ava Henne had 6 rebounds and 5 points for the Rams, while teammates Addison Thomas and Mosey Drevline scored 5 and 4 points, respectively. Avery Geoghan had 6 rebounds and 5 points for Wauconda, while teammate Sophie Giles had 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

“We didn't play our best, but we didn't have calls that went our way and we got in some foul trouble so that makes it hard,” said Wauconda coach Jaime Dennis. “(Grayslake Central) stepped up and executed. They hit shots, but we didn't execute offensively at our end even though we held them to 28% shooting.”