Grayslake Central’s Peyton Hoffmann spent much of the game with the ball in her hands on Tuesday night.
Hoffmann, a 6-foot-1 junior guard/forward, has taken on the mantle of Rams leader once worn by her older sister, Madison, who is a freshman at Green Bay.
“Peyton has done an amazing job growing into the role of a team leader and being the focal point,” Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn said. “Everyone game-plans for her this year, where last year she was second or even third.
“She has done a great job and become a very good vocal leader and pulls the team together.”
So it was only fitting that Hoffmann dribbled out the final seven seconds of a Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional semifinal against Vernon Hills. She racked up 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals to carry the fifth-seeded Rams to a 51-39 victory over the top-seeded Cougars.
Senior guard Mosey Drevline added 12 points for the Northern Lake County Conference co-champion Rams (22-9), who have reeled off 12 victories in a row and will play third-seeded St. Viator (20-14) at 7 p.m. Thursday with a chance to win their third straight sectional title — all with Hoffmann on the court.
“She’s a very tough guard, and because of what she can do, she elevates the other players on her team,” Vernon Hills coach Paul Brettner said. “That makes her very difficult to guard. We had an awesome season but a disappointing ending.”
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Junior guard Emma Jocson scored 18 points for the Cougars (22-8), who won the Central Suburban League North and were coming off a 60-12 victory over Lakes.
“We knew they were going to be a tough team and pushed each other and did all the little things to help us win,” Hoffmann said. “My teammates pushed me, and we had really good energy.”
Hoffmann, who scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season and entered the game averaging 14.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals, made two highlight-reel plays.
Just before halftime, Hoffmann poked a loose ball ahead to midcourt, beat a Vernon Hills player to the ball and raced to the basket for a layup to give the Rams a 21-13 lead. Then late in the third quarter, she grabbed a defensive rebound, pushed the ball up the court and drifted to the corner. As the defense relaxed, she hit a wide-open 3-pointer to extend the lead to 38-23.
Ikenn suggested that’s not unusual to see from Hoffmann.
“She plays all five spots for us,” he said. “It gives us a lot more flexibility offensively. If they put a small on her, she can go inside. If they put a big, she can be on the perimeter and look to take her off the dribble, and she’s a really good 3-point shooter.
“It’s nice to have a weapon like that. To her credit, she has grown into the role really well.”
Drevline, a North Central College commit, has played with Hoffmann since second grade and knows what she can do.
“They had a hard time stopping her tonight,” Drevline said.
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.