Knar, Mundelein hold off Stevenson's furious rally
Returning back from a long trip out west left the Mundelein girls basketball players a bit fatigued.
The Mustangs returned after winning a couple of games in San Diego last week and flew back home Sunday.
The Mustangs had a much shorter trip Tuesday night when they visited North Suburban Conference Lake Division rival Stevenson in Lincolnshire.
They needed extra effort from Toni Knar, who scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, as the Mustangs saw a 10-point halftime lead vanish before recovering to beat the Patriots 57-52.
The Patriots (6-10, 2-2) held a 46-44 advantage in the fourth quarter after Sydney Davis made a short jumper with 4:37 left.
Knar sparked the Mustangs (15-3, 2-2) with 7 straight unanswered points and put Mundelein ahead for good on a 3-point play with 3:48 remaining.
"It all happens with the screens and everything combined worked out for itself," said Knar, who has scored 20 points in three different games this season. "It was a real team effort and I couldn't get those points all alone.
"I just wanted to step things up. Unless you rise to the occasion, how are you going to get where you want to go? You just hit free throws, make layups and bunnies, just like any other person on our team would do it."
The Mustangs responded the rest of the way by outscoring the Patriots 13-6.
Knar also had some input from Mundelein coach Brian Evans at the end of the third quarter.
"You are our scorer," Evans told Knar, pulling her to the side. She's our main scorer and leading scorer," Evans said afterward. "She has a way of breaking down defenses. She came out and started to score and played a great game for us."
Mundelein had built a 31-21 lead at halftime, but Stevenson came out strong in the third quarter and outscored the Mustangs 19-10 to cut the deficit to 41-40.
The Patriots' Michelle O'Brien scored 8 of her team-high 15 points and Kaylee Fisher added 5 of her 14 in the quarter.
"Give Stevenson credit, turning up the gas on us, and we didn't react on it," Evans said. "Fourth quarter, we responded."
J.J. Sawchuck added 11 points for the Mustangs.
"I think Mundelein is a good team and everything we thought they would be," Stevenson coach Trish Betthauser said. "We dealt with pressure the whole game and (Mundelein) hit some shots from the perimeter. We tried to switch things up defensively and had some success.
"You need to play a complete game. I applaud the effort and I'd like to see us more as a complete team. Every coach would like to know if they have a consistent group. Right now, my group shows some great things at times. But we need to be like that all the time."