Lily Fisher shows she's 'one of the best players in the state' as Libertyville defeats Maine South

The fourth quarter Saturday belonged to Libertyville junior guard Lily Fisher.

Maine South had started to gain traction against the Wildcats. The Hawks were on a five-point run when Fisher calmly dribbled downcourt, got around her defender and sank a pull-up three-pointer.

After Libertyville got a defensive stop, Fisher assisted on a basket by junior forward Elle Knight to swing momentum back in the Wildcats’ favor. She scored 10 points in the quarter and played a huge role in No. 18 Libertyville’s 59-49 victory.

‘‘She’s definitely the best player in Lake County,’’ Wildcats coach Greg Pederson said. ‘‘And I think she’s shown, as we move around a little bit, that she’s one of the best players in the state.’’

Libertyville (22-5) ran a lot of its offense through Fisher, who finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Opposing defenses load up in an effort to take her out of a rhythm, but she’s difficult to guard because of her patience, improved shooting and court vision. She dissected Maine South’s defense out of the pick-and-roll, regularly finding her teammates for baskets.

At 6-1, Fisher is a physical guard. She relishes getting into the paint to finish through contact. After the No. 14 Hawks had cut the Wildcats’ lead to four in the fourth quarter, Fisher drove to the basket and absorbed contact to get to the free-throw line.

Fisher found teammates for open shots and layups throughout the game. Knight is adept at setting screens, and Libertyville has made it an emphasis to surround Fisher with shooters to open up driving lanes or make teams pay for loading up on her drives.

‘‘Lily gets me open a lot,’’ said senior guard Ella Pawelczyk, who scored 11 points and made three three-pointers. ‘‘That’s, like, the biggest aspect of my game.’’

Pawelczyk made two threes in the third quarter to help keep Maine South at bay. She said the victory showed how much Libertyville has grown this season. In an earlier matchup between the teams, the Wildcats lost 46-28 in a game in which Fisher said they got ‘‘whupped.’’

‘‘She’s our team leader,’’ Pederson said of Pawelczyk. ‘‘She’s had days where she’s missed her first three [shots], and we tell her, ‘Keep shooting,’ and she has no problem taking that request. She played like a senior today.’’

Knight added eight points and eight rebounds and freshman guard Addie Casey four points and five rebounds for Libertyville.

Fisher said limiting the Hawks to one shot on their possessions was vital.

‘‘We struggle with [rebounding], and they like to get second-chance points a lot,’’ Fisher said. ‘‘So I feel like we got them off the boards, and that caused us to get more possessions.’’

The Wildcats have three games left in the regular season, two of which are against formidable teams in Glenbrook South and Carmel.

‘‘We’re gonna have so much confidence going into the playoffs,’’ Pawelczyk said. ‘‘We’re excited with our seed for sectionals. This win is going to be so important for us, especially for some girls who are newer to the team and to the playoffs.’’