Once Gaby Dzik finds her rhythm, opposing defenses are in trouble.

The 6-foot Crystal Lake South sophomore showcased her offensive skills during Fox Valley Conference girls basketball action against Cary-Grove, posting a game-high 21 points to lead the Gators over the Trojans 50-28. Dzik, who scored inside and outside on Tuesday evening, took over in the second half, where she put up 15 points.

“Once I start shooting and getting nice passes, it’s just lights out,” Dzik said. “I’m going to try and carry this over into our next game. Our bond off the court helps with our chemistry and shooting on the court. Last year, we lost to them, so this win means a lot.”

The Gators (3-1, 1-0 FVC) broke off a 10-2 run to start the game, flustering Cary-Grove (2-1, 0-1 FVC) with their half-court zone defense. Crystal Lake South’s zone not only forced turnovers, but the Gators prevented the Trojans from scoring inside and forced Cary-Grove to take perimeter shots, which weren’t falling early.

“We’ve been working on all different kinds of defense, but watching them, we wanted to implement that specific zone on them,” said senior guard Laken LePage, who finished with seven points, four rebounds and six assists on Tuesday. “They have a lot of shooters and we knew we had to pressure them so we could fluster them.”

Crystal Lake South led 22-13 after a defensive first half in which both sides battled for rebounds on both ends of the floor. Although the Gators navigated around Cary-Grove’s three-quarter-court pressure, the Trojans succeeded in closing out possessions with rebounds, as Crystal Lake South struggled to hit 3-point shots.

“We played a little sloppy and we didn’t move the ball around in the first half,” said Cary-Grove forward Olivia Leuze, who scored eight points and added four rebounds on Tuesday. “We just have to clean that up for next time. We have to come back and work hard at practice. We’ll play them again and we have a long season ahead.”

Tessa Melhuish snatched a game-high 10 rebounds for the Gators, who found their shooting spark early in the second half, where back-to-back triples pushed the team’s lead into double figures. Gracey LePage, who scored eight points to lead all bench players, was one of multiple Crystal Lake South players to make 3-pointers in the second half. The Gators led 37-20 after three quarters.

“Our team loves to shoot threes, so we just fire them when they’re open,” said Laken LePage, a Saint Xavier recruit. “Our energy and our team bond... we do everything together and bringing that energy to every game is what we love. We love playing together.”

Dzik also helped the Gators put the game out of Cary-Grove’s reach, taking defenders off the dribble and showing an effective shooting touch from range. On the other end, Leuze became the featured scorer for the Trojans, gaining position in the painted area and using her 6-foot-1-inch frame to finish around the basket.

“We knew the post was open a little bit more and we needed to move the ball around and be smarter,” Leuze said. “Our guards were playing really well. My teammates trusted me and they wanted to get me the ball so we could make something happen.”

Kennedy Manning recorded nine points and three rebounds, while Malaina Kurth and Avery Hoffman each had four points and four rebounds for the Trojans, who face Jacobs on the road Friday. Makena Cleary collected eight points, three assists and three rebounds for the Gators, who host Grayslake North on Wednesday.