Grayslake Central streak reaches 10

The Grayslake Central girls basketball team saw its winning streak reach 10 on Tuesday.

And No. 10 might have been the toughest in the streak.

This one started out easy and before becoming a survival test for the Rams.

Grayslake Central held off Carmel Catholic 37-33 in the final round of pool play of the Blue Devil Classic in Gurnee.

“Carmel was a very good and physical team,” said Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn, whose team held a 15-point lead in the second quarter. “You knew they would come back at us. You've got to take that punch and come back from it. The last 10 seconds took, like, 10 minutes. It was important to take the best shot and take it to the hoop.”

The Rams (12-2, 3-0) held a 35-33 lead heading into the game's final minute. Rebekah Llorens, instead of waiting to be fouled, drove for the game's final basket with 30 seconds left.

“We had extra tension knowing one basket can tip the score one way or the other,” said Llorens, who had 11 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. “We knew we had to score quickly, needing to keep the lead for ourselves. Then it was a matter of playing defense and keeping (Carmel) from making another shot.”

In the final 30 seconds, Carmel missed a 3-point attempt and the Rams missed a few free throws.

“For some reason, we couldn't get over that hump,” said Carmel coach Kelly Perz, whose team dropped to 8-4 overall, 2-1 in the tournament. “They never gave up their fighting. I asked the girls to step up their defense after halftime.

“As a team, we need to make the next step together.”

The Rams opened the game with the first 9 points and led 13-2 after the first quarter.

Then Grayslake Central raised the lead to 17-2 on Alex Scarbro's steal and layup with 6:10 left in the second quarter.

The Corsairs went on a 10-2 run and closed the gap to 19-12 at the break.

“(Carmel) did a nice job defensively,” Ikenn said. “We just had a tough time adapting to their zone. We did stop moving. We normally move around very well, but in this one we didn't.

“That's why I always preach defense on a bad shooting night. That's why you've got to defend well and rebound. The shots were not falling.”

Both teams had a tough time shooting the ball and finishing at about 30 percent from the field.

The Rams held a 28-20 lead entering the final quarter.

The Corsairs managed to get the lead down to a bucket on Beth Scudder's short jumper, pulling Carmel within 35-33 with 1:58 remaining.

“You can't win a game when you play three quarters,” Perz said. “We had to chip away and chip away.

“Shots were not falling for us and we shot 25 percent. We're a better shooting team than that. When you have off nights, you've got to find better shots, and we let up.”

Jackie Meier led Carmel with 10 points off the bench and Sarah McHugh added 8.

Grayslake Central was led by Skyler Jessop with 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Both teams are back in action today; the Rams meet Palatine at 6 p.m. and Carmel faces Warren at 7:30 p.m.