Tigers let late lead vanish

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GRAYSLAKE – Crystal Lake Central coach Matt Le-Page couldn’t believe it when junior guard Paige Celestin fouled out of Friday’s game on a questionable blocking call. What ensued from there wasn’t so surprising.

The Tigers failed to hold a fourth-quarter lead for the second consecutive game, committing critical turnovers down the stretch, and Grayslake North rallied for a 40-35 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division win at home.

“The same mistakes late in games, the second straight game we’ve been tied or leading in the last few minutes and lost,” said LePage, referring to Central’s 41-38 loss to Johnsburg on Wednesday. “We have to figure it out at the end.”

After a 14-point loss to North (14-4 overall, 5-1 FVC Fox) less than a month ago, Central (9-9, 2-3) hung tough at the start. Celestin was aggressive early and scored eight points in the first half.

With 21 seconds to play in the second quarter, Maddie Dagley nailed a jumper from the left wing to put Central up, 17-15, at halftime. The Tigers scored only 19 points total in their previous matchup against North.

“I thought we attacked what they did to us the first time and got them out of their trap a bit,” LePage said. “We missed some little shots and a couple bad turnovers, but I thought we played pretty well.”

Central clung to a small lead throughout the third quarter, thanks to its stingy defense. The Tigers held the Knights to only one field goal, and back-to-back transition layups from Evelyn Youel gave Central a 24-21 lead going into the fourth.

For three quarters North guard Kendall Detweiler struggled to score, shooting 1 for 10 from the field. But the 5-foot-3 sophomore hit two three-pointers down the stretch, the second of which gave the Knights a one-point lead with 3:45 remaining.

Dagley answered with another jumper to put Central back on top, but the Knights took the lead for good on a putback from Brooke Sauer, and North made 5 of 8 free throws to ice the game.

“I told the girls one of the hardest things to do is win after you lost,” said North coach Jim Sarver, whose team lost to Grayslake Central on Wednesday. “A little doubt creeps into your mind.”

Celestin finished with 12 points to lead all scorers. Jordyn Bowen had 11 for the Knights.

While another tight, late-game loss is obviously frustrating for Central, LePage says his young team is continuing to gain experience, and Celestin echoes his sentiments.

“We’re getting closer and closer,” Celestin said. “A couple more weeks and we’ll be right there.”