Grant 54, Stevenson 39

The lasting effects of a tough home loss to Warren in the North Suburban Conference championship game last Saturday were still evident for the Grant Bulldogs as they opened Class 4A regional play at Stevenson against the host Patriots on Tuesday night.

"After a loss like that, it is tough to shake -- no question," Grant coach Tom Oeffling said.

And No. 13 seed Stevenson was anything but sympathetic to the Bulldogs woes.

The Patriots led much of the night and even held a 12-point advantage early in the first half. But when the game and the Bulldogs season were on the line, Grant responded.

Senior Jamie Swanson poured in 22 points and the Bulldogs closed out the game on a 14-0 run to end the Patriots' season 54-39.

Grant advances to the regional final for the seventh straight time and will face No. 5 seed Mundelein in the 7:30 p.m. regional final Thursday night.

"We did not play well tonight," Oeffling said. "I do think the loss to Warren messed with our psyche a little bit."

While the Bulldogs were still trying to shake off the cobwebs from Saturday, Stevenson came out on fire. In the first four minutes of play, Stevenson raced out to a 16-4 lead and was poised for the knockout punch.

"I think if we would have taken the margin to 20-4 or 22-6 -- something like that, then maybe we would have been better off," Stevenson coach Trish Betthauser. "But we didn't and it kept (Grant) in it."

Grant (25-4) closed the first quarter and the first half on short 6-0 spurts to keep the game manageable. Stevenson closed the half with a 24-22 advantage.

"We all looked around at halftime and new that it can be one and done at this time of year," said Grant senior Jamie Swanson who led all scorers with 22 points. "We didn't want this to be our last game and we knew we had to pick it up."

Stevenson (12-20) would not go quietly as the Patriots got as close as 40-39 on 2 free throws from Caitlin Morrissey (6 points) with 4:05 to play. Those would be the last points of the season for the Patriots.

"We were more disciplined in the second half and didn't make the dumb foul or the dumb turnover," Swanson said. "The last four minutes we played like we were capable of."

Autumn Gaylor was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 11 points. Kayla Fisher led Stevenson with 9 points.

Mundelein 70, Highland Park 47: Mundelein junior J.J. Sawchuk is in a rather unusual position. It seems that Sawchuk is a rare breed in this day of basketball -- she doesn't like to shoot the ball that much.

"We have so many other girls that can score I like to pass it to them too," she said.

While this would be any coach's dream, but for Mundelein coach Brian Evans, it's almost a nightmare.

"(J.J.) has the ability to score but she gets down on herself if she misses a couple shots in a row," Evans said. "We try and convince her that she can score and we want her to shoot more."

Tuesday night in the Class 4A regional opener for the No. 5 seed Mustangs, Sawchuk did shoot more and it paid big dividends for the Mustangs. Sawchuk went for 18 points and contributed mightily on defense, helping the Mustangs advance with a 70-47 win over No. 12 seed Highland Park.

Mundelein will face No. 4 seed Grant in the Stevenson regional final Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

"We wanted to come here and get the game to more of an up tempo style," Evans said. "We knew Highland Park played only five players so we thought we could wear them down."

By the time the game had gotten to the later stages of the third quarter and eventually to the fourth, Mundelein (22-7) had worn out the Giants. The Mustangs took a 28-21 halftime advantage and quickly turned that into a double figure lead to open the third quarter.

A 13-4 run that carried midway through the period gave the Mustangs their biggest lead of the night at 45-31 with 2:05 to play in the quarter.

Defensively, Mundelein had its sights clearly set on Highland Park leading scorer Tatiana Moore. Though she led all scorers with 19 points, Moore was harassed by the Mustangs on defense most of the night and it led to easy baskets the other way.

"It was our goal to take away (Moore) and (Genny Arnold)," Evans said. "I know the two of them had a lot of their shots early, but we wanted to make others beat us."

Mundelein was more diverse on offense. Toni Knar (17 points) and Samantha Panitch (10 points also hit double figures. Panitch added 7 assists and 4 steals.