Cary-Grove survives scare from CL South
Cary-Grove took Crystal Lake South's best shot, got off the canvas and eventually won the bout.
In the end, Michelle Gaede's 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short and Cary-Grove survived with a 45-42 win over the Gators in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division girls basketball game in Cary Wednesday night.
"We reassessed our goals after the Jacobs loss Friday," said South coach Kyle McCaughn. "We want to win out and then win the regional. Michelle got the shot we wanted it just didn't go down. Give C-G credit. They withstood our effort and found a way to win the game, But I like the way we played. This was our best game of the season."
Cary-Grove (21-2, 7-0) looked to be in good shape for the win when senior guard Liz Bart bombed in a long 3-pointer with 55 seconds left to give the Trojans a 42-37 lead. Cary-Grove went up 44-37 when freshman Olivia Jakubicek made 2-of-2 from the free throw line with 48 seconds left.
But the Gators refused to quit. Gaede drilled a 15-footer with 30 seconds to pull the Gators within 5 at 44-39.
Bart made 1-of-2 from the line with 13 seconds left to give Cary-Grove a 45-39 lead. Gaede's 3-pointer pulled the Gators (13-11, 4-4) within 3, but the visitors couldn't get any closer.
"We knew this would be a tougher game this time around without Meg (Straumann)," said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert, referring to the Trojans' injured junior guard. "We knew it would be a very tough, tooth and nail game because South is a very good team. But our kids came through when they had to. It was a very good win."
Bart paced Cary-Grove with 15 points which included a 4-of-7 effort from 3-point range.
"We knew without Meg it would be a much tougher game than the last time we played them," said Bart. "There were bodies all over the floor the whole game but we got all the loose balls. We knew it would be a war and it was. It was a good win."
Claire Jakubicek scored 14 points with 11 rebounds and 3 assists while her sister Olivia scored 10 points with 8 boards for the winners.
Gaede led the Gators, who were plagued by 5-of-13 shooting from the free throw line and 22 turnovers, with 16 points. Lauren Chrystal added 8 points with 8 rebounds while Katie Burton added 8 with 3 assists for the Gators.