THE SKINNY
Hopefully, James Naismith wasn’t in the stands watching. This was a battle for the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division lead, and after the teams shot a combined 7-of-49 in the first half (it ended 13-6 in favor of North), visiting Grayslake North (17-8, 9-1) used a six-point possession in the end to beat Grayslake Central (16-9, 8-2) for the second time this season and close in on its second straight division title.
THE TURNING POINT
Down 27-26 and with the ball in the final minute, Central wasted a chance to take the lead when called for traveling. North then clinched the win by getting a six-point possession. Brittney Thibeaux drove the lane and scored while knocking over Central’s Rachel Effa. Effa was called for a blocking foul and was then given a technical foul. Thibeaux hit her free throw, Kendall Detweiler hit the two technical free throws, and then hit 1-of-2 when fouled on the ensuing possession to make it 33-26. Effa banked home a three-pointer to make it 33-29 with 14 seconds left, and Detweiler’s final free throw and a putback by Dahlstrom at the horn completed the scoring.
THE STAR
In defeat, Central’s Morgan Dahlstrom had 14 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks, and three steals.
BY THE NUMBERS
North was 9-of-50 shooting, 0-of-9 from distance. Detweiler had 13 points, Thibeaux nine points and nine rebounds, and Magie Fish eight points. Central was 11-of-43 shooting. The difference was free-throw shooting, 16-of-26 to 7-of-8.
QUOTABLE
“It was a rough night. We were getting the shots we wanted, but it seemed like the rim had a lid on it. It’s an important win for us. It means we’re one step close to the conference championship, just like last year. — Thibeaux
