Libertyville wins NSC title outright
Lydia Crow scored 16 points, Margaret Buchert added 12, and Libertyville's girls basketball team clinched the North Suburban Conference championship outright by beating visiting Mundelein 52-20 on Senior Night on Wednesday night.
Libertyville (21-7, 11-3) and Lake Forest entered the night tied for first place, but the Scouts lost to Zion-Benton. It's the Wildcats' first conference championship since 2011-12.
"We are so proud of this team," Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. "They worked hard to be conference champs."
Buchert sank three 3-pointers and scored all of her points in the opening quarter, as the Wildcats raced to a 20-2 lead. Crow finished with four 3-pointers.
Mundelein (8-20, 3-11) was led by Kendall Klatt's 8 points and Morgan Frank's six.
Zion-Benton 52, Lake Forest 44: The visiting Zee-Bees won the North Suburban finale to deny the Scouts a share of the conference championship.
Zion-Benton improved to 20-7 and finished 9-5 in the NSC. Lake Forest fell to 23-7 and finished 10-4 in conference, one game back of Libertyville.
Wauconda 44, Antioch 39: Allie Tylka scored her 1,500th career point, and the host Bulldogs pulled out the Northern Lake County Conference game to hit the 20-win mark for the first time in eight years.
Tylka finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists. Wauconda (20-5, 9-4) also got a big game from Ella Karg (15 points, three 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals).
"It was a rough one but good teams find a way to win even when they are playing poorly," Bulldogs coach Jaime Dennis said. "A win is a win. There was a lot going on tonight and we got a little distracted. We regained our focus in the second half enough to pull off the win.
"Kiley (Szmajda) pulled down 10 boards, and Morgan (Lung) had a great defensive game for us."
Antioch (5-21, 3-10) received 8 points apiece from Rachel Phillips and Avery Larson.
Round Lake 59, North Chicago 29: The host Panthers won the Northern Lake County Conference game to reach 20 wins for the first time in 10 years.
Taylor Major scored a team-high 10 points for the Panthers (20-8, 10-3), who last won 20 games in 2008-09, when they went 24-5. Diane Flade and Giselle Raygoza each scored 9 points for Round Lake, while Isaly Irizarry and Karla Marin had 8 points apiece.
It was the Panthers' 11th win in a row.
Grayslake Central 48, Grant 43: Down 35-33 after three quarters, the host Rams outscored the Bulldogs 15-8 in the fourth to remain undefeated in the Northern Lake County Conference.
Rosie Drevline and Amanda Kocialkowski scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Grayslake Central (21-7, 13-0), which concludes conference play at home against Round Lake on Friday night.
Jazzlyn Linbo had 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for Grant (15-12, 7-6). Brooke Karpinske (11 points) and Ally Mahinay (10) also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs.
Lakes 65, Grayslake North 50: Sara Smith had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and the host Eagles won in Northern Lake County Conference action.
Mia Edwards added 17 points and 8 rebounds for Lakes (12-15, 5-8), and Kylie Jozwik contributed 10 points.
"Good conference win," Eagles coach Brian Phelan said. "We had a great third quarter to extend the lead. We finished strong."
Grayslake North fell to 9-20 and 5-8 in the NLCC.
Lake Zurich 35, Warren 31: Ella Gilbertson's 14 points led the visiting Bears to victory in their North Suburban Conference finale.
Margueret Spear and Maddy Piggott added 9 and 8 points, respectively, for Lake Zurich (16-14, 9-5),
Warren fell to 9-18 and finished 5-9 in the NSC.
Stevenson 69, Waukegan 40: Avery King scored 21 points, and the visiting Patriots cruised in their North Suburban Conference finale.
Stevenson (21-9, 9-5) also received double-digit scoring from Simone Sawyer (15 points) and Ava Bardic (14, four 3-pointers). Lydia Lueck and Nikki Ware (two 3s) had 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Waukegan finished 0-14 in the NSC.