Coming off of an incredibly impressive 2009-2010 campaign, the LHS girls basketball team had very high expectations for this year. Finishing last season with a 25-6 record, they knew that topping last season’s performance would be no walk in the park. With a perfect 27-0 regular season, the Cats are ready to begin the playoffs, and are well on their way to outperforming last year's success.
Just topping the win total, though, is not enough. Last year, the team won Conference and lost at Sectionals, falling short of State. This year, they vow to at least win Sectionals. With the way that the team has played so far this year, accomplishing this goal is a very strong possibility.
There have been several keys to the success of the team this year. One of those is the way everyone contributes.
“We don’t have one person who carries the team every game,” said senior Olivia Wilcox. “It varies game to game. When the other team guards one of us well, someone else always steps up.”
Coach Kathie Swanson believes that familiarity has been a large factor in the Cats’ success as well.
“They are familiar with our system, understand what it takes to be successful, and know what my expectations are. It also helps that our team is pretty close and works hard to get better,” said Swanson. “We play together as a team and don't focus on individual accomplishments.”
The old cliché “defense wins championships” could definitely ring true for Libertyville. Swanson emphasizes defense in every practice, and believes that is has truly paid off. Over the last 21 games, Libertyville has not allowed an opponent to score 40 points.
The dominance continued on Friday, January 28, as the Cats defeated the Mundelein Mustangs 54-36 and improved to 24-0. Senior Night brought a full house to LHS, and Libertyville showed the fans just how dominant they could be.
The Mustangs got off to a strong start in the first quarter, hitting their first several shots and showing some lock down defense. Their good play quickly faded, though, and Libertyville ended the quarter on a high note, leading 16-10.
The second and third quarters were dominated by the Cats, as they went on a 21-13 stretch that put them up 37-23 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter put the nail in the coffin, as the Cats dominated the action with fast break points and excellent defense.
It was stunning to see that the Cats won by only 18 points. Ugly turnovers doomed the Mustangs from early on, and the Cats capitalized at every opportunity. Constant turnovers (namely traveling) and poor defense are always a recipe for disaster, and the Cats made Mundelein learn this the hard way. This might not have been the most dominating performance by Libertyville this year--they defeated Belvidere by 60 earlier in the season-- but it definitely was a one-sided game.
Savannah Trees led the way for the Cats offensively, pouring in 11 points. She was followed by Jackie Hansen, who lit up the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. Hansen scored 9 quick points and helped LHS seal the deal.
After a 29-point blowout of Lake Forest, and another 13-point defeat of New Trier, the undefeated Wildcats took to the court against Wauconda High School on Wednesday night at LHS in an effort to repeat as NSC Champions.
Coming in to the game, Libertyville (26-0) had an average margin of victory of 20 points a game, whereas Wauconda (20-3) had been defeating their opponents by an average of just over 9 points per game.
While Wauconda might not have had the gaudy statistics that Libertyville did, there was a reason Wauconda had made it this far.
“What stands out about them is their full-court zone pressure and ability to hit jump shots,” Swanson said. “Plus, they have players who have played together for a while, so there is a comfort level in their style of play.”
In order for the Cats to be able to bring home the NSC Championship trophy, they had to stick to what they had done all year: play strong defense and keep the game moving quickly.
“We like to play an up-tempo game, so we plan to push the ball up the court in transition as much as possible,” said Swanson
The game began slowly for both sides, with missed shots and turnovers being the main theme early on. Causing these offensive mishaps, though, was an unbending defense by both the Cats and the Bulldogs.
While the Bulldogs were struggling to score, they did manage to take an 8-5 lead into the second quarter. Four of their first 8 points came from the free throw line.
The Cats offense came to life in the second quarter, as they outscored Wauconda 13-4. The game would have likely ended much closer if not for junior Jackie Hansen.
With 2:20 remaining in the second quarter, the Bulldogs took the ball up court, looking for some momentum to end the half. Hansen immediately stole the ball and drove the length of the court, drawing a shooting foul and converting both free throws.
The very next play, as the Bulldogs took it up court, Hansen stole it again. She drove the length of the court, hit a layup, and made the gym go wild.
Not fifteen seconds later, the Cats had the ball back after a Wauconda miss. Savannah Trees pulled the trigger on a three, capping off a 7-point run in a mere forty seconds. Going into halftime, the Cats held an 18-12 lead. In the third quarter, things got much more interesting.
Whatever Wauconda head coach Jamie Weber told her players during the half was clearly effective, as the Bulldogs came out of the gates running to begin the third quarter.
Both teams traded buckets throughout most of the quarter, with Wauconda outscoring Libertyville 8-7 up until the last second. With one second remaining in the third quarter, Wauconda hit a buzzer-beating three, silencing the Libertyville fan section.
Wauconda took all of the momentum into the fourth quarter, trailing by just 2 points with eight minutes remaining.
Wauconda had kept the score close throughout each of their games this season, taking a late lead and sealing it off with their defense. This was nearly the case again on Wednesday night.
Trees and the Cats proved to be too much for the Bulldogs, though. With 4:54 to go, Trees hit a go-ahead 3-pointer, bringing life to the dormant Cats offense. Immediately following her 3-pointer, Trees stole the ball and bolted down the court, making a layup and converting on a one-and-one attempt. This built the Cats’ lead to 6.
If that wasn’t enough, Trees stole it again with 1:55 remaining in regulation. Though the game was already sealed, she would end up with two more steals in the last minute, converting four consecutive free throws en route to a 37-27 victory.
Trees lead the way for the Cats offensively, scoring 17 points--including the final 10 of the fourth quarter.
The Cats won their second consecutive NSC Championship title, defeating Wauconda for the second year in a row.
"It was one of the best feelings, especially since we did it two years in a row," Trees said after the win. "It has been a long time since a Libertyville girls basketball team has had the chance to do that."
The playoffs will begin on Feb. 14. The Cats’ first playoff game will be against the winner of a play-in game between the winner of Deerfield and Round Lake.
photo courtesy of Visual Image Photography