Deerfield star Aubrey Galvan sees the benefits of ‘letting the game come to her.’ Opponents see trouble.

Deerfield guard Aubrey Galvan’s playmaking can be spectacular.

The 5-foot-7 sophomore has a rare knack for finding teammates with highlight-reel passes. She also can force the issue at times.

But Deerfield coach Nicole Keith said she has been impressed by Galvan’s maturation since the start of the season.

“We’ve been talking about clean basketball with Aubrey,” Keith said. “We know she can do all the passes. We want clean basketball with no flash. We joke about it that you can’t do anything about it until we’re up 30 or 40 points.

“She has cleaned up her game, taking more time and letting the game come to her. That’s been huge for us.”

The new-and-improved Galvan was on full display during a Class 3A Deerfield Sectional semifinal on Tuesday. She scored 21 of her game-high 26 points in the first half to spark the second-seeded Warriors’ 77-47 rout of third-seeded Lake Forest.

Sophomore guard Nikki Kerstein hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for Deerfield (27-5), which advances to play top-seeded Carmel, a 58-23 winner against fourth-seeded Vernon Hills, in the sectional championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday. Senior guard Lexi Kerstein, a Vermont recruit, added 15 points.

Junior forward Sarah Constantine led Lake Forest (22-11) with 15 points, and senior guard Bella Ranallo, a Clemson commit, had 11 points.

Galvan was a force on both ends, disrupting the Scouts’ offense with her ball-hawking defense and on-ball pressure while also pushing the pace to create wide-open shots for teammates. She made three 3-pointers and had five steals, three assists and a blocked shot.

DePaul, Loyola, Creighton, Marquette, Minnesota, Utah and Wisconsin are among the programs that have extended offers to Galvan, who leads Deerfield in assists, steals, blocks, field-goal percentage and 3-point field-goal percentage this season.

She said she has learned to play at different speeds to attack a defense.

“Great coaching has really helped me, and throughout this season I’ve really grown,” she said. “I’ve also really been working on my shooting and being consistent.

“I’m just happy to get this win. We’ve all learned about controlling tempo because we were too fast at the beginning of the season. I think we really executed today.”

Galvan was particularly overwhelming for the Scouts in the second quarter. She hit a pair of rainbow 3-pointers from the corner, scored off a lay-in, drove hard to her left for a layup with her left hand and then sank a follow-up free throw, made two more free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt and turned a steal into another layup — all in a span of six-plus minutes. The Warriors led 43-22 at halftime.

Keith said Galvan’s defense is just as important as her offense.

“She doesn’t worry about scoring points,” Keith said. “Aubrey’s game is defense. The college coaches talk about her defense and vision. You can get girls to score points. She sees things defensively and has been locked in this year. Defensively, you can’t coach that sometimes.

“Her conditioning is there, probably from soccer. She never is tired. She times it perfectly for steals. It’s offensively and defensively there for her now.”

Galvan rarely gets rattled, staying focused throughout a game no matter the opponent.

“From AAU and high school, I always think defense is how you win games,” Galvan said. “You always have to have both factors. I just always am in the mood to play defense. That’s my mentality.”

Lake Forest senior guard Rachel Kaus, a Cornell recruit, said she has played with Galvan for several years in AAU for Full Package Athletics, watching her develop into a marquee player.

“Aubrey has been my ride-or-die point guard,” Kaus said. “We’ve been training together for seven years. Aubrey has developed so much as a player. She is so good.

“We play one-on-one in training, and it’s so hard to stay in front of her. I can’t wait to see how she develops in her future.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.