Grayslake Central stops Cary-Grove
Skyler Jessop wasn’t shaken up after her subpar first quarter against Cary-Grove.
Despite committing 5 of Grayslake Central’s 10 turnovers and not scoring a point, her teammates didn’t lose faith in Jessop.
Jessop in turn responded positively, scoring 16 points and leading the Rams to a 42-38 Fox Valley Conference crossover victory over the Trojans in Cary.
“Their defense was really good and I wasn’t prepared for it,” Jessop said. “In the next quarters, I just let it go.”
After trailing 10-8 after the first quarter, the Rams (5-2) limited the Trojans (3-3) to just 15 points over the next two periods. The main focus of the Central’s defnse worked around stopping Trojans main scoring threat Olivia Jakubicek.
The Cary-Grove junior paced the Trojans with 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting in the first quarter, but the Rams’ smothering defense did not allow Jakubicek a shot in the second quarter.
The Trojans had 7 turnovers in the second and third quarter and were a combined 26 percent (6 of 23) from the floor.
“We wanted to focus on our turnovers and making good decisions,” said Jakubicek, who led all scores with 21 points. “We have to work on coming out strong in the first quarter.”
Despite the offensive limitations during the middle of the game, Cary-Grove rapidly reduced the Rams’ 37-25 lead in the final six minutes of play.
A barrage of long-range shots from Jakubicek and Katie Barker (3 points, 7 rebounds) brought Cary-Grove within a shot (39-36) with 1:49 left to play.
Jakubieck connected on her second 3-pointer of the quarter to bring the Trojans within a shot. She scored 8 points in fourth period.
“We knew coming in this was going to be a intense, physical game,” Rams coach Steve Ikenn said. “We got a lead, but there was a lot of time left. I knew if they hit a 3-pointer they’re going to get that confidence back.”
The Trojans’ confidence was evaporated when Morgan Dahlstrom connected on wide open layup with 30 seconds left to extend the Rams’ lead to 41-36.
Joslyn Nicholson (9 points) brought the Trojans’ back to a shot down with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left.
Forced to foul, the Trojans sent Jessop to the line and she split a pair of free throws to seal the win. Jessop finished 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line and 5-for-6 from the foul line.
“Their four 3-pointers were wide open,” Trojans coach Rod Saffert said. “They’re a much quicker team than we are, so we had to play smarter. We weren’t moving like we were supposed to when we got tired.”
Cary-Grove senior Paige Lincicum had 5 steals in the first quarter alone and finished the game with 7.