Mundelein sneaks past Lakes in regional opener

Late in first half, the scoreboard read: Kendall Klatt 9, Lakes High School 8.

Klatt, Mundelein's feisty forward/center lost her lead at halftime. But her home-standing Mustangs were in control at the break. Mundelein (10-20) was up 17-10 at halftime.

And then Lakes senior Mia Edwards got crazy hot. She scored 9 quick points for her Eagles.

Lakes had fourth quarter leads. They didn't last. Klatt (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Morgan Frank (12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks) led the Mustangs to a 41-40 Class 3A regional-opening win at Mundelein on Monday night.

Wait, 6 blocks?

“I used to play volleyball,'' Frank said. “I see that ball in the air and I want to hit it in the air.”

Lakes (13-17) couldn't have had a more disappointing first quarter. The Eagles hit 1 shot on 12 tries yet trailed just 6-2 after the quarter.

“What a crazy first half,'' said Mundelein coach Greg Dorgan. “It was low-scoring and we both missed a lot of layups. This is the third time we saw them.”

Again, the 5-foot-7, Klatt was a force inside for the Mustangs.

“Coming in, I thought we would win,'' Klatt noted. “I use my quickness to my advantage.”

Lakes finally caught Mundelein in the final quarter. Two Rosemary Tekampe free throws put her Eagles up 29-28 early in the final quarter. A layup from sophomore, Allison Dietz (6 points) moved the lead to 31-28. Lakes' leads never reached 4 points and on an old-fashioned 3-point play from Klatt the game was back to Mundelein at 38-37.

Edwards and Sara Smith led the Eagles with 9 points. Smith closed the first half with a layup. She also closed the game with a long 3-pointer.