Central Off to Sectional Final After Rout

It was part of Grayslake Central's Head Coach Steve Ikenn's job description - to travel downtown during rush hour last Friday to scout out the competition. And for his trouble, all coach Ikenn witnessed was a 48-point romp by Gordon Tech. That team was coming to his home floor this week.

So his Rams (27-3) rewarded the head coach with a 50-point victory over that same Gordon Tech club on Tuesday night.

And the Fox Valley Conference got its wish. A sectional final is on tap this Thursday night between the two heavyweights in the Fox Division. While Central blasted Gordon Tech 75-25,  Johnsburg and star Melissa Dixon just got by Wauconda 52-51 in the nightcap.

The only question from the first game of the night was whether or not the Rams actually got something out of this contest. On the second 3-pointer of the night by Skyler Jessop (14 points), the Rams bolted to a 12-0 lead. Maddy Miller's 3-pointer closed the first quarter with Central up 29-7.

"I still liked what we did in the first half,'' Ikenn said. "It was nice to get some other girls into the game."

Alex Scarbro (7 points) closed the first half with another 3-pointer as the halftime lead grew to 41-9.

Central center Rebekah Llorens (20 points, 10 rebounds) started off on a pace to set all kinds of records. But some early foul trouble stifled that plan.

"I think we had three team fouls and they were all mine,'' Llorens said. "But this was still was a good opportunity to run through our offense. We really didn't know what to expect when Gordon Tech got here."

The starters played until late in the third quarter. That's when coach Ikenn was able to use his bench. The scorers for the rest of the game went by the names of Roxy Acoff (9 points), Beth Arnold (4 points), Emma Shepard (4 points), Colleen Daly (3 points) and Meghan Guilfoyle (2 points).

Freshman Morgan Dahlstrom saw several minutes and grabbed 7 rebounds. Kat Dickson had her usual strong floor game and gave the Rams 5 points and 5 rebounds.

The Rams have two wins over the Skyhawks this season. In early January, Central hammered Johnsburg 79-61. The rematch in Johnsburg was much closer. Central rallied in the final quarter and posted a 56-51 win.

"I'm happy,'' Llorens said. "Everything is better at home."

The title game on Thursday tips off at 7:30 p.m.

Prior to the sectional final game, both Clairie Brennan and Scarbro will shoot in the IHSA three-point shooting contest. If they qualify on Thursday, they will head to Normal and the statewide three-point contest. North's freshman Kendall Detweiler is another contestent on Thursday.