Girls Basketball: Libertyville tops Stevenson — again

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Libertyville's Eileen Knauff (right) tries to get past Stevenson's Taylor Buford during the overtime period on Saturday. The Wildcats pulled out a 39-36 win. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media

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Updated: March 26, 2012 1:57AM

About 15 minutes after Libertyville High School beat Stevenson for the second time this season last week, Wildcats coach Kathie Swanson walked out of her office and barely contained her smile. 

Who could blame her? 

Had they lost, the defending North Suburban Conference champion Wildcats would have become all but mathematically eliminated from the NSC Lake Division title race. 

Instead, Libertyville (16-6 overall, 7-3 NSC Lake) rallied from deficits of 10-0 and 16-2 in the first two quarters, furiously clawing its way back for a thrilling 39-36 overtime victory over the Patriots (17-6, 7-2). To say the win could have huge implications may be an understatement. 

Although it may be a longshot for Stevenson to lose any of its three remaining league battles, if the Patriots do — and Libertyville wins its remaining two — the Wildcats would own the tiebreaker and retain the NSC Lake crown. 

One could then make a strong argument that Libertyville should be considered for a higher seed than Stevenson when the IHSA playoff pairings are announced, even if the Wildcats finish second in their division. The Patriots’ only two division losses have been to Libertyville.  

Stevenson coach Tom Dineen has gone on record saying he thinks his team is worthy of a top-four seed. Where does that leave Libertyville? 

“I don’t worry about (the seedings), but I think our record against Stevenson speaks for itself,” Swanson said. “Their only two losses in the conference have been to us. But basketball’s a game of luck, too. We’ve had a little luck on our side at times also.” 

That same luck worked against Libertyville just a few days prior to its win over Stevenson. The Wildcats’ third league loss — against Warren on Jan. 19 — came on an extremely controversial, last-second call. It allowed the Blue Devils a pair of what became game-winning free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining, on a call many in attendance felt shouldn’t have been whistled. In the end, it may have cost the Wildcats the Lake Division title. 

But good luck or bad luck aside, there was nothing lucky about Libertyville’s effort down the stretch against Stevenson. Although the Wildcats never led during regulation, they forced overtime when senior center Nicole Kruckman (8 points, 11 rebounds) forcefully ripped down her eighth offensive rebound of the afternoon, and scored to tie the score with 42 seconds remaining. 

“I think Nicole, in particular, was a huge force out there,” Swanson said. “She’s battling against girls who have a big height advantage and she’s not intimidated at all.” 

In overtime, three of Libertyville’s other seniors showed their veteran presence. Alex Haley (team-high 13 points), Eileen Knauff (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Kerry Risley (7 rebounds) all scored critical points in the extra period.  

Risley also made a huge free throw with 7.4 seconds to play in OT that gave Libertyville a three-point cushion, and had a hand in the face of Stevenson junior guard Kari Moffat (game-high 22 points) when she fired a desperation three at the buzzer. 

“I felt a lot of pressure out there at the end, but I tried to block it out,” Risley said. “The fact that I had two shots at the line and not just a one-and-one made it a lot more comfortable.” 

It was also a game that produced some interesting statistics. Libertyville (12-for-47 from the field) took a staggering 20 more shots than Stevenson (13-for-27), and out-rebounded the Patriots 34-25. That included a lopsided 19-6 edge on the offensive glass, from where a significant portion of their points came, thanks to second-chance baskets. 

Libertyville forced 18 Patriots turnovers, too, while shooting 14-for-19 (73.6 percent) from the free-throw line. Stevenson shot just 35 percent (6-for-17) from the line. 

Now, the big question remains: Can this team go further than last year’s group that won a regional title, and was nearly unstoppable before losing its first game in the playoffs to Zion-Benton? 

“After being undefeated in the regular season last year, then losing so many of our key players, I think — for a while — a lot of the girls had the attitude that they weren’t as good or that they didn’t deserve to go as far as last year’s team did,” Swanson said. “But now, these kids are starting to believe they can be just as good. They’re growing more confident, and that’s a good sign for the future.”

Recap: In a 34-33 loss to visiting Warren on Jan. 19, Libertyville was led by Haley, who scored a team-high 12 points. Risley added 10 points.

On Monday, in a nonconference game against a tough foe, the Cats fell 42-30 to host Glenbrook South (18-4). Kruckman had eight points and eight rebounds. Knauff had eight points and five rebounds.

On the schedule: Libertyville was slated to visit Carmel on Wednesday. The Cats return to league play, in Mundelein, at 7:30 p.m. Friday.