HP rallies past Pats in opener

For the first time in a long time, Stevenson's girls basketball team has no returning starters.

The lack of experience might have cost the Patriots on Wednesday night in their season opener, as visiting Highland Park came back from a 39-31 third-quarter deficit to win 52-49 in a non-conference game.

With the help of 10 foul shots, the Giants outscored Stevenson 21-10 in the fourth quarter.

Highland Park kept chipping away at the huge deficit until Tatiana Moore, who led all scorers with 20 points, converted two foul shots to give the Giants a 48-47 lead with 1:50 left.

"We came into the game upset because we weren't ranked in the top 25 (by some publications), even though we thought we should be," Moore said. "So at halftime we said to ourselves to forget about the rankings and play our game."

"I thought we kept our composure in the fourth quarter," Giants coach Jolie Bechtel said. "We went down 12 with a minute left in the third and we just talked about working hard on our defense, and I felt that we did that real well."

Carmel-transfer Genny Arnold added 13 points for Highland Park, and Julie Behm added 11 points and 6 assists.

Patriots coach Trish Betthauser will not use the lack of veterans as an excuse.

"We just lost our composure in the fourth and our intensity was real poor," Betthauser said. "We put (Highland Park) too many times on the foul line and had too many turnovers in the fourth quarter. We need to start playing like we are veterans."

Kayla Fisher came off the bench to lead the Patriots in scoring with 13 points, including a 3-pointer, while Caitlin Morrissey had 9 points. Freshman Anna Morrissey had 7.

Fisher transferred from Loyola last year but didn't become eligible for the Patriots until late in the season.

"Kayla is definitely a nice addition to our team," Betthauser said. "She brings a lot of energy and she is just getting into the flow as well and trying to figure out her role on the team."

Fisher also dished out a game-best 8 assists.

"We put them on the line too much and we had too many turnovers in the fourth," Fisher said.

-- Irv Solomon

Warren 42, Loyola 26: Stanford-bound Sarah Boothe had 21 points and 16 rebounds, as the Blue Devils opened their season with a win in Wilmette as part of the New Trier Thanksgiving tournament.

Warren led 19-16 at halftime and 27-20 after three quarters, before outscoring Loyola 15-6 in the fourth.

Blue Devils point guard Joree Green had 7 points and 6 rebounds, and forward Lory Shaw contributed 6 points and 6 boards.

Audrey Gaughan led Loyola with 8 points.

Mundelein 68, PR 53: At Mundelein, the host Mustangs improved to 2-0 in their own Turkey Shootout.

Kelsey O'Connor and Toni Knar each scored 16 points for Mundelein. J.J. Sawchuk added 14.

Prairie Ridge was led in scoring by Shannon Hennelly with 17 points.

Today, Mundelein plays Glenbrook North at 7:30 p.m., while Prairie Ridge faces Vernon Hills at 4:30 p.m.

Carmel 69, Lakes 27: At Mundelein, senior center Erin Glogovsky scored 21 points to lead the Corsairs.

Carmel (2-1) also received 14 points from Caitlin Hendricks and 12 from Tiffany Hendrickson.

Lakes (0-3) received 11 points from Nora Kenney.

Neither Carmel nor Lakes plays in the tournament today.

GBN 48, Vernon Hills 42: At Mundelein, Jenna Wallis had 11 points for Glenbrook North (2-0).

Jessica Feece scored 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for Vernon Hills (0-2).

Vernon Hills plays Prairie Ridge at 4:30 p.m. today.

Round Lake 61, G-K 28: At Harvard, the Panthers defeated Genoa-Kingston in their season opener, as Labrenthia Murdock scored a game-high 13 points.

Amber Phillips added 9 points for Round Lake.