Lake Forest zones out Stevenson with stingy defense

The Lake Forest girls basketball team had played less than four full quarters of zone defense during the last two years.

This season, the Scouts have rolled out a 1-2-2 zone defense.

The Stevenson girls found out the hard way Thursday that the Scouts zone can be stingy. Stevenson was futile offensively the entire game and Lake Forest posted a surprisingly easy 32-19 victory in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division.

Part of it was Lake Forest's defense, and part of it was the Patriots' disjointed effort. What made it all the more perplexing was that the Stevenson had practiced well all week.

"We executed well in the three days leading up to this game," said Stevenson coach Trish Betthauser. "Unfortunately, we didn't show up tonight."

Betthauser would not be surprised if more teams use zone against the Patriots (5-5, 2-1 NSC Lake). This was the first Lake Division victory of the season for the Scouts (3-7, 1-3).

"I think we'll see a lot of zone until we (start) shooting the ball from the perimeter on a consistent basis," she said.

What made the Lake Forest zone so effective was the presence up top of 6-foot-1 junior Claire DiMario.

"She makes the 1-2-2 effective as the point defender," Lake Forest coach Nick Balaban said. "She makes it hard for guards to shoot over her and she's agile and mobile. As the ball moves, she flattens out and it becomes a 2-3."

The zone limited touches in the paint for sophomore Michelle O'Brien (10 points) and junior Kelsey Simon (2 points).

"We were able to get them out of their comfort zone a little and take away their inside game," Balaban said.

On offense, the Scouts took care of the ball and worked until they found a good shot.

"We're not a very patient team, but tonight we were," Balaban said. "We struggle to score so we had to slow the game down."

Lake Forest senior point guard Maggie Burke had a game-high 12 points. The Scouts struggled at times with Stevenson's traps, but Burke and DiMario succeeded for the most part at getting their team into the offense.

"Maggie doesn't get rattled," Balaban said. "She's a calming influence."

Next up for Stevenson is a Saturday showdown with Lake Zurich.

"We'll continue to work," Betthauser said.