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Girls Basketball: Libertyville’s defense stymies Carmel
Updated: January 25, 2012 9:18PM
At Libertyville, the defense never rests.
On Wednesday, that defensive unit held host Carmel without a field goal for 12 minutes, 19 seconds of the first half as the Wildcats cruised to a 56-28 victory that earned them Route 176 bragging rights for another year.
Libertyville (17-6) was coming off a tough loss to Glenbrook South, but flashed the form that will make it a threat come tourney time.
Alex Haley scored a game-high 23 points, and Olivia Mayer added 10 points and five assists. Eileen Knauff added eight points and four dimes.
“Today, we came out with the most energy we’ve ever had,” said Haley. “That was our best start (to a game) this season. Eileen and Olivia did a great job pushing the ball up the court.
“I was just trying to run up there, and they were running with me. We got a lot of fastbreak layups today.”
Libertyville led 12-6 after a Carmel bucket with 4:20 left in the first quarter.
The next time the Corsairs made a field goal, it was just before the halftime buzzer and it was 28-13.
“We did a really nice job of challenging them to take tough shots,” said Wildcats coach Kathie Swanson. “We did a great job pushing the ball up the court, especially in the first quarter. That’s why we got off to such a strong start.”
Sophomore guard Kathleen Felicelli led Carmel with nine points.
Despite the 17-6 record, Libertyville is still chasing Stevenson in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division title race. The Pats are 7-2 with three winnable games left, and Libertyville’s 7-3 and has the tiebreaker.
“We just have to worry about ourselves,” said Swanson. “We want to have success in the playoffs. That means continuing to improve every game.
“We just have to take care of own business.”
Libertyville will face Mundelein on Friday night while Carmel (13-10) will take on North Chicago on Saturday afternoon.
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