It had been 12 years since the Lake Forest girls basketball team had cut down nets after winning a regional championship.
Backed by a suffocating defense and just enough offense, Lake Forest sneaked past Warren 31-28 on Friday and earned the Class 4A Warren Regional title, its first since 2005.
"It’s crazy," said junior Maeve Summerville, who supplied six rebounds. "I feel like it’s surreal right now."
The No. 5-seeded Scouts (23-9) made their regional championship a reality by holding the fourth-seeded Blue Devils (24-5) without a basket in the fourth quarter.
With 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Blue Devils junior Kaylen Dickson made a layup to give the Blue Devils a 25-16 lead. The game appeared to be slipping away from the Scouts. Lake Forest coach Kyle Wilhelm called a timeout.
"Coach was encouraging and positive," senior guard Delaney Williams said. "There was no (panic) in us."
Lake Forest collected itself and turned to freshman Halle Douglass for an offensive spark. Douglass scored the next seven points on a collection of drives to the basket and free throws. The Scouts tightened their defensive rotations, closing lanes for Dickson to drive to the basket.
When senior guard Tori Salanty drained a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the game, the Scouts had come all the way back and led 27-25.
Douglass finished with a team-best 14 points. Salanty added four points and six rebounds.
"I’ve been on a lot of teams. This is the strongest team," Williams said. "When we are down, we never stop fighting. That’s the great thing about this team."
A four-year varsity player, Williams has witnessed the trajectory of the program, from no conference wins her freshman year to a regional title as a senior.
Surpassing 20 wins and winning a regional crown meets two of the goals the Scouts set before the season. Another goal was competing for a North Suburban Conference title. Lake Forest won 10 North Suburban games but placed third.
With Lake Forest clinging to a 29-27 lead with 27 seconds left, Blue Devils senior Rebekah Foley stepped to the line to shoot three free throws after she had been fouled attempting a 3-pointer. There was Williams, demonstratively waiving her arms in the air, directing Scouts fans to cheer more loudly.
"What she does to get our team up for these games, she has a refuse-to-lose mentality, and we feed off of that," Wilhelm said.
Foley missed two of the three free throws.
With 9.3 seconds left, the Blue Devils had the ball with a chance to tie the game at 31. As Williams had done all night, she forced Warren shooting guard Jordyn Hughes to rush her shot. It bounced of the rim, and the Scouts secured the rebound and the win.
The game was the seventh time Lake Forest had played in Gurnee this season, including five games at a holiday tournament and one against the Blue Devils in conference play. This final time, the Scouts left with the gymnasium nets and a long-desired piece of hardware.
"With all the adrenaline, I’m not going to sleep tonight," Wilhelm said.
Jon J. Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
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