Trees, Libertyville Claim an NSC Title

Anyone figuring the odds at the NSC title game on Wednesday night was simply out of luck. The battle between unbeaten Libertyville and Wauconda didn't figure to be close. Yet with less than six minutes to play in the fourth quarter it was knotted up at 27-27.

Maybe even higher odds would placed on No. 33 in a Libertyville uniform having anything to do with this big contest.

Jackie Hansen gave the Wildcats (27-0) great energy off the bench. Libertyville star Savannah Trees scored the game's last 10 points as the Wildcats won the title game 37-27.

The junior Hansen was one of the first players off coach Kathie Swanson's bench. That came in the first quarter as the lethargic Wildcats offense produced only 5 points and trailed the underdog Bulldogs 8-5.

"I don't usually play,'' Hansen said. "But I'm glad my coach had faith in me. I wanted to come out strong and stay in the game."

Swanson, too, was amazed how slowly her unbeaten squad came out in this game. So she wasn't shy in bringing in new faces.

"Jackie is very good in on the ball defense,'' Swanson said. "She really stepped up. She can be a very good defensive player."

It still was a low-scoring game in the second quarter. With two minutes to play before the half, it was a 12-12 game.

"We weren't playing our game for sure,'' Hansen said. "We knew we had to step up."

Kerry Risley, another player off the Libertyville bench, gave the Wildcats two big buckets before halftime. A 7-0 run gave Libertyville and 19-12 lead. Trees had 8 of her 18 points before the break.

"It didn't look like we wanted to play,'' Trees admitted.

Behind the strong play of senior center Roslyn Summerville (9 points), the Bulldogs tied this game up in the fourth quarter. That's when Trees took matters into her own hands.

"It was getting way too close,'' Trees said.

Despite a sore hip, the senior closed the game with a 3-pointer, three-point play and four straight free throws.

"That's what big players do,'' Swanson said.

Nicole Kruckman helped with 4 points and 7 rebounds. Hansen had 3 points and 5 rebounds. Alex Haley had all of her 4 points in the third quarter.

The Cats begin their state march on Tuesday at the Deerfield Regional.