When Mundelein fell behind by nine points at halftime to Libertyville, it was a road the Mustangs had been down many times before. They had not defeated their North Suburban Lake rivals in more than 10 years.
The jinx was broken Tuesday, as Catherine Chresanthakes hit two free throws with 32.5 seconds left to break a tie and push Mundelein (18-2, 4-2) to a 53-50 win.
“We just did something for the girls in the 5th and 6th grades coming through the feeder programs. We finally broke the Libertyville mystique,” Mustang coach Brian Evans said.
Libertyville (15-6, 5-2) had their chance to blow the game open in the second quarter when they went on a 13-2 run to take a 20-13 lead. Mundelein answered with a 7-0 run of their own to open the third quarter and get within two, while forcing 10 Wildcat turnovers in the quarter.
The turning point came with 4:52 left in the game, when Lizzy Aldridge, who led Libertyville with 18 points, fouled out while committing an offensive foul.
Lizzy Washburn led Mundelein with 14 points while Chresanthakes scored 11 points for the Mustangs, while Kelly True added 14 points and Courtney Dydo 12 points for Libertyville.
Hinsdale Central 57, St. Ignatius 35: Morgan Kasparek poured in 23 points and 11 rebounds and Maggie Acuna had 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals as the No. 3 Red Devils (18-0) rolled past St. Ignatius. Nicole Lyle paced the Wolfpack (11-9) with 10 points.
Junior Kirstin Nelson, one of Central’s starting guards, is out for the season after tearing the ACL in her right knee in Saturday’s game against Glenbard West.
Marshall 72, Gary (Ind.) Lew Wallace 21: Cappie Pondexter scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the No. 5 Lady Commandos (11-3) opened a 19-0 lead and gave Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters her 698th career victory. Jacquay Holmes added 15 points and Ka-Ron Hughes had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Marshall.
New Trier 53, Glenbrook South 40: Shana Franklin scored 21 points including a buzzer-beating jumper to end the third quarter to lead the No. 8 Trevians (15-3, 5-0) to the Central Suburban League South win. Pam Sindlay led Glenbrook South (13-5, 2-3) with 14 points.
Barrington 48, Schaumburg 26: Lindsay Richards scored 20 points as the No. 11 Broncos (14-3, 3-1) held Schaumburg to no points in the second quarter and only three in the fourth in a Mid-Suburban West win. Nicky Eason added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Barrington and the Saxons (13-6, 2-2) were paced by Andi Brooke’s 14 points.
Maine South 57, Maine West 40: Meg Nakamura scored 15 points and Liz Bondi added 14 as Maine South (12-6) used an 18-6 fourth quarter scoring edge to give coach Mike Deines his 400th career win to top the No. 17 Warriors.
“We had great games over the years and it was nice that this was the 400th,” Deines said. “We played with a lot of purpose tonight.”
Diana Boras (12-6) led West with 12 points.
Bowen 44, Bogan 34: Taheisha King poured in 24 points as Bowen (12-5, 3-1) romped in the Public South.
Crane 46, Farragut 43: Rodtrice Tucker scored 24 points and hauled down 20 rebounds as Crane (6-4, 4-1) held on in the Public West.
Curie 46, Austin 37: Shirmera Jones scored 18 points, six steals and four assists as Curie (8-3, 5-0) stayed unbeaten in the Public West.
Evergreen Park 40, Kaneland 39: Jennifer Rusnow scored 14 points for Evergreen Park (10-7, 4-4) in the Suburban Prairie White win. Sherl(cq) Wenz led Kaneland with 10 points.
Good Counsel 51, Maine East 43: Sheila Quiachon scored 11 points to lead Good Counsel (11-9) to the non-conference victory.
Loyola 39, Niles North 33: Nell Murphy and Debbie Schick scored 14 points each for Loyola (13-7) in the non-conference win.
McHenry 55, Crystal Lake Central 25: Shelby Horgan scored 18 points and Nicole Marzano added 12 points as McHenry (7-9, 3-5) cruised in the Fox Valley. Mother Guerin 45, St. Francis de Sales 38: Jessica Smart and Lisa Silkov paced Guerin with 12 points each in the non-conference win.
Queen of Peace 55, Morton 42: Andrea Casey scored 17 points to lead Queen of Peace (7-11) to the non-conference win.
Richards 45, Stagg 39: Tina Hill’s 23 points were enough as Richards held on for the non-conference win.
Thornwood 56, Bradley-Bourbonnais 38: Tameka Harris scored 22 points and had eight steals and four assists to lead Thornwood (12-5) to the non-conference win.
Timothy Christian 42, Illiana Christian 40: Barbie Heerdt scored 16 points as Timothy Christian (12-5, 6-2) held off Illiana Christian in a Private School League showdown. Jessica Eenigenburg scored 19 points in a losing effort for Illiana (9-9, 4-4).
