Lake girls basketball notes: Libertyville enjoying home cooking; Mundelein’s Vyverman, Stevenson’s Nisha Musunuri reach 1,000 milestone

Home court advantage is a real thing for the Libertyville girls basketball team.

Coach Greg Pedersen pointed out the Wildcats are 9-0 at home this season and 36-2 in the friendly confines over the last 3 seasons.

This season, location of games really hasn’t mattered. Libertyville is 16-4 and sits atop the North Suburban Conference at 8-0, riding an overall 11-game winning streak after a 57-28 NSC win over Lake Forest Tuesday.

Balance has played a key role in the Wildcats’ success where Lily Fisher (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals), Madison Sears (8 points, 6 rebounds, 56% from the floor), Elinor Lindal (9 points, 37% from 3) and Sophia Swanson (9 points, 48% from the floor, 3-to-1 turnover-to-assist ratio) have filled the stat sheets.

Pedersen likes how Swanson, in particular, has progressed this season. “Sophia has established herself as a key contributor,” he said. “She is aggressive, shoots the ball well and finished drives at a strong rate.”

Also of note has been the play of Ella Pawelczyk off the bench.

“Ella gives us key minutes,” Pedersen said. “She plays with energy, defends well, and has twice as many assists as she does turnovers.”

Antioch update: A big positive for the Sequoits has been the play of Addie Webb. “Addie is integral to our team’s success,” coach Jamie D’Andrea said. “She is an unselfish player who hustles on both ends of the court. She isn’t afraid to do the dirty work, which is why she is our leading rebounder (7 per game).”

Enza Nawrocki, D’Andrea pointed out, also has made major progress this season. “Enza has always been a 3-point shooter for us, but until this year, she didn’t have the confidence to produce like she is now. She’s had several games this season where she’s hit 3-5 three-pointers. She currently leads our team in 3-pointers taken and made (shooting 32% from the 3-point line).”

Heidi Rathmann leads Antioch (7-9, 4-2 Northern Lake County) in scoring at just over 16 points per game and averaged almost 22 points during a recent 6-game stretch. Scarlett Carroll leads the team in assists (2.6 per game) and steals (2.9 per game).

Grant update: Junior Ryan Kadlec is an unsung hero for the Bulldogs, coach Andrea Weaver explained.

“Ryan is an incredible defender and leader on the team,” she said. “She rarely comes out of the game.”

Kadlec had 10 deflections and 9 rebounds in a recent Northern Lake County Conference game against Lakes, and is averaging 3 points and 7 rebounds on the season. “Ryan is solid all around,” Weaver said. “I know I can always count on her to play her part.”

Grant checks in at 2-14 overall and 2-5 in NLCC play. “We are very young and making good progress, regardless,” Weaver said.

Grayslake Central update: The Rams’ defense continues to make headlines, holding then-conference co-leader Wauconda to 17 points in a recent game. Central (15-4, alone atop the Northern Lake County Conference at 6-0) holds foes to around 34 points per game.

“Our defense has been doing a great job,” said Central coach Steve Ikenn, whose team also recently downed Woodstock Marian Central Catholic 53-45.

Madison Hoffmann continues to lead the team in all major statistical categories (12.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.1 steals) and tied a season-high for assists recently with eight.

Three-year starter Katelyn Marcelain is someone Ikenn said sometimes gets overlooked. “Katelyn plays great post defense, makes all the hustle plays, rebounds well, can dish out assists, get some steals and scores, too,” he said.

In a recent 3-game stretch, Marcelain had 15 points and 13 rebounds against Grant to go with 3 assists, and had 8 rebounds and 4 steals against Wauconda and 12 points and 8 rebounds against Marian.

Ikenn also has been thrilled with Autumn Aliff’s play off the bench in her first full varsity season.

“She comes into the game and brings tremendous energy and toughness,” he said. “She plays intense defense, takes charges, handles the ball well and can knock down jumpers. She uses her speed on both sides of the court and is all over the place making hustle play after hustle play.”

Lakes update: Another Lake County team on the upswing is Lakes, which downed Grant 52-40 this past Friday to move to 4-2 in Northern Lake County action and then followed that with a 48-42 nonconference win over Deerfield Monday to move to 8-8 overall. Brynn Skinner (12 points), Kaylee Anderson (9 points) and Emily Ovaska (9 points) starred in the Deerfield win.

Coach Grant Murray has been pleased with the bench play of freshman Ryan Horvath and junior guard Wrenna Streicher. Horvath averages more than 14 minutes and 3.7 points per game.

“Ryan has been called on to play tenacious defense and has embraced her role,” Murray said. “Wrenna is one of the first players off the bench and plays great on-ball defense and has turned into a reliable shooter.”

Anderson leads the team in scoring (7.6 points) and rebounding (6.8), while Kaylie Schneider averages 6.9 points and nearly 2 steals a game. Adey Martin averages 5.4 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals.

In each of its 8 wins, Lakes has held opponents to 42 or less points.

Lake Zurich update: The Bears (13-6, 6-2 North Suburban) are winners of 8 of their last 9 contests. After losing to host Loyola Academy in the finals of the Christmas tournament there, Lake Zurich rattled off wins against Batavia, Hersey, DePaul College Prep and Warren Township.

Molly Friesen leads the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game, while Alex Nowak averages 8.2 points. Layne Nordstrom is at 3.7 assists per game, while Avery Cooper averages 2.1 blocks.

Senior Ramona Foreman has drawn high praise as well. “Ramona has stepped up to play big minutes off the bench for us with the injury to sophomore Addie Leonard,” Bears coach Chris Bennett said.

Sophomore Kate Wahlund also has been a big contributor off the bench. “Kate has played big minutes off the bench for us, hitting big shots against top opponents and playing valuable minutes late in close games,” Bennett added.

Mundelein update: Casey Vyverman scored her 1,000th career point in Mundelein’s Grow the Game contest against Downers Grove South. She is averaging 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

Sophomore Grace Dunigan had recent double-digit scoring games of 10 and 12 points. “Grace has been stepping up, handling the ball with constant pressure,” Mustangs coach Sarah Teipel said.

Teipel also lauded the defensive efforts of Madelyn Gardner. “Madelyn plays tenacious defense every game,” she said.

Mundelein was 13-9 and 3-5 in North Suburban action after a 40-35 North Suburban loss to Waukegan Tuesday. The Mustangs went 3-1 over the holidays at St. Viator with wins against Vernon Hills, Grayslake Central in overtime and Meta Valley. Mundelein also defeated Downers South and Barrington at the Grow the Game showcase event. Vyverman was all-tournament at St. Viator and earned a Grow the Game player of the game honor.

Round Lake update: Panthers coach Molly Hennig had plenty of nice things to say about four-year varsity veteran Evelyn Vazquez.

“Evelyn is our best defender and is often the first one on the ground for a loose ball,” she said. “She has been on the varsity for 4 years and has always stepped into whatever role has been asked of her.”

Hennig added sophomore Brianna Arteaga has taken a big step forward this season. “Brianna has grown tremendously from her freshman to sophomore season,” she said. “Defensively, she has been instrumental to setting the tone at the top of the zone. Her shooting and finishing have also become more consistent of late.”

Arteaga averaged 3 deflections and 2 steals a game and also had a 20-point scoring game over Christmas break.

Emma Franks (8.1 points, 6.2 rebounds) and Lisette Herrera (7.3 points, 1.1 assists) lead Round Lake (6-12, 2-4 Northern Lake County) in scoring, while Kaleigh Skowronski leads the team in rebounding (6.6) and assists (1.8).

Stevenson update: The Patriots had 2 players hit key milestones recently. Senior Nisha Musunuri (13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3 assists) scored her 1,000th career point against Evanston during a 32-point performance. Sydney Rosland (9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2 assists) made her 100th career 3 in a North Suburban game against Warren.

Stevenson (13-7 overall, 7-1 North Suburban) is riding a 5-game winning streak after a Tuesday conference 59-point win against Zion.

Junior Alex Karcz averages 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Megs Seribo has taken a starting opportunity and run with it.

“Megs does it all,” Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael said. “She stepped into a starting role with such grace and tenacity. She is a very selfless leader and cares deeply about her preparation, her teammates and the program as a whole.”

Michelle Dubilier and Reese McLelland also have played big roles for the Patriots. “Michelle did not play much last year and is now in our starting lineup, and Reese is a freshman who continuously looks for ways to grow and improve.”

Dubilier hit for 21 points in a recent game against Lake Forest.

Vernon Hills update: The Cougars started the 2025 portion of its schedule with 4 wins to move to 14-7 overall and 5-1 in Central Suburban North action.

One of many bright spots for coach Paul Brettner’s squad has been the play of Anahya Castro, who averages 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. She missed the 2023-2024 season due to injury.

“It took a while to shake the rust off, but Anahya is playing some great basketball on both sides of the ball,” Brettner said.

Keira Thomas (12.5 points) and Emma Jocson (9.9 points) lead the Cougars in scoring, while Madison Mays (6.9 rebounds) and Emily Ochieng (5.8 rebounds) are the team’s top two on the glass.

And Brettner noted Frannie Poulos’ play has been equally critical. “Frannie starts and comes off the bench,” he explained. “She does a lot of little things to help us win. She does not show up on the stat sheet, but she helps others show up on the stat sheet.”

Brettner said a current point of emphasis for Vernon Hills is second-chance points.

“Our second-chance points are a bit low on points per possession,” he pointed out. “We are trying to improve this since we have done well with offensive rebounding.”

In a key CSL North win against Maine West (47-32) in Des Plaines Tuesday that pulled the Cougars even with Highland Park atop the conference at 5-1, Thomas had 15 points, while Castro added 12 points and Mays had 5 points.

Wauconda update: The Bulldogs are holding teams to 35 points a game this season.

“I am really proud of our defense,” Wauconda coach Jaime Dennis said. “Thirty-five points a game gives us a pretty good chance to win most nights.”

The Bulldogs (13-2, 6-1 NLCC after a 62-11 win over North Chicago Tuesday) have been boosted by point guard Alexia Manalo, who leads the team in assists, steals and deflections. “Alexia is our floor general,” Dennis said. “She keeps us moving and organized. We struggle when she is not on the floor.”

Sophomore Avery Geoghan, Dennis noted, is getting more reliable with more experience. “Avery is a feisty defender, and despite her size, she is a good rebounder, reads the ball well and can score,” Dennis said.

Sarah Palmer had the hot hand last week, scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and shooting 67% from the floor in 2 games.

Avery Lis led the Bulldogs with 10 points against North Chicago, in a game that saw 12 Wauconda players score points.