VERNON HILLS — After nine long months of waiting to get back into action on the court, the Lake Forest Scouts Girls Basketball team began the regular season with a victory Monday night in the annual Cougar Classic against the Vernon Hills Cougars.

The Scouts got off to a bit of slow start, especially on the glass, as they fell behind early, but were able to get out of the first quarter with a two-point lead thanks to eight first-quarter points from senior Halle Douglass.

“Our defensive rotations were off, and we needed to do a better job at communicating and boxing out,” said head coach Kyle Wilhelm. “We got better at that as the game progressed.”

Over the next couple of quarters, the Scouts held a lead for both of them but seemed to struggle to put the Cougars away, only leading by single digits after the second and third quarters.

However, the team went on a 19-6 run in the fourth quarter, to put the game away and get the victory over Vernon Hills, 51-36.

Douglass led the Scouts in scoring with 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and five blocks, but the story outside of Douglass was freshman Bella Ranallo, who scored 12 points in her Varsity debut to go along with seven rebounds.

“Bella did a great job attacking the basket,” said Wilhelm. “She also did a great job pushing the pace. She is a fearless competitor and will add another dimension to our offense.”

For her first game, Ranallo looked very composed and got more and more locked in as the game progressed.

“I was a little nervous at first, but once the I started playing, everything fell into place,” said Ranallo. “It also really helped that my teammates had the confidence in me and continued to encourage me throughout the game.”

The Scouts will continue their Cougar Classic tournament on Wednesday afternoon against in-city rival Lake Forest Academy at 4:30 pm. Stay tuned to The Forest Scout for recaps after every Scout game.

QUICK FACTS:

Scouts Record: 1-0, 0-0

Next Game: Wednesday, November 20 vs. LFA @ Vernon Hills HS

Follow the Game on the NFHS Network if you can’t make it!