Girls Hoops Team has Remarkable Season

The skeptics will always wonder: How did Libertyville's girls basketball team win back to back NSC Lake Division championships? What about those winning streaks of 15 games last season and that record-breaking 29 game streak this season?

All told it was a 54-7 mark in two seasons. After a 6-4 start to the 2009-10 season, the Wildcats stormed to a 48-3 mark.

How? Why?

Much has been made of this team that did not produce one Division I basketball player.

Some of the highlights included four consecutive wins over rival Stevenson. Patriots club has two players headed off to play Division I basketball. That conference mark was 20-2 in two seasons in a division that includes talented clubs like Warren, Lake Zurich and Mundelein.

Some of Libertyville scores this season bordered on scary. Libertyville 67, Belvidere 7 and Libertyville 49, Lake Forest 8.  Only once did an opposing team score more than 50 points this season. And that was back in November.

Here's another look at the players who made it work.

Savannah Trees: Here's a player who clearly worked at her game. Fans were treated to a player who could switch hands at a moment's notice. Equally comfortable handling the point guard slot, she was a dangerous scorer from 3-point range. She was never finer than her dominating performance at the Fremd Regional last year.

Kaca Savatic: Has anyone come back so strong after a torn ACL? When healthy, she was the area's top defensive player. Despite her brace she still held some of the area's best offensive players down. Her work on Stevenson's gifted Michelle O'Brien was especially brilliant.

Olivia Wilcox: Her toughness was never questioned. Another player who left it all on the court. Underrated perhaps but could stand up and hit a big shot when the time called for it. Also stood out on the defensive end.

Alex Haley: Her sophomore year was something to behold a year ago. It was fun to see a young player who was not afraid of anything. This year, she stepped up with hard play and a soft shooting touch.

Valerie Van Roeyen: She was nowhere to be found during her junior year. Van Roeyen was clearly the surprise player of the year. She displayed a strong shooting touch and good court awareness.

Nicole Kruckman: With the lack of height on this special team, Kruckman was the chosen center. She displayed grit and determination in the middle and her left handed shot was something to behold.

And then there were those players who helped off the bench. Such as Kerry Risley, who was instant offense. There was Eileen Knauff, who had a gutsy performance in the final game of the year. Jackie Hansen is a player to watch and she will always have that strong performance in the NSC title game. The Wildcats also had help from Molly Moon, Erin Jaffke, Lisa Cooper, Taylor Primrose and Erika Danckers. Those reserves never get the credit they deserve for the hard work they do in practice.

And of course some of the credit goes to head coach Kathie Swanson and assistant Melissa Gorski.

Boys Hoops: It's the postseason for the boys hoops team. Scott Bogumil's club is coming home for the regional. Monday's game time is 7:30 p.m. The Palatine Pirates are the guest in this single-elimination tournament.

Boys Swmming: The assured senior Ben Snader finished 9th in the state with a time of 58:28 on Saturday. He reached the top 12 on Friday with an 11th place showing in the IHSA swimming championships in the 100 yard breaststroke.