Stevenson's 'D' sticks another foe
A who's who of North Suburban Lake Division girls basketball coaches sat near the top of the visiting side bleachers at Stevenson, and the two teams on the court made sure none of them left early.
Stevenson and Libertyville battled to the very end, with the host Patriots prevailing 42-37 Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to a season-best four games and climb back to the .500 mark again.
"We're meshing," said point guard Kayla Fisher, who led Stevenson (10-10, 3-3 NSC Lake) with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, including a big one down the stretch.
"We're kind of getting that chemistry, knowing how each other plays."
In each of their last four wins, the Patriots have held their opponent to fewer than 40 points.
"The last few games that we've had success, we've been defending," coach Trish Betthauser said. "That's really what we want to hang our hat on."
Stevenson needed to defend well at the end against Libertyville (12-9, 5-4), and it did. With the Patriots clinging to a 38-37 lead with a half minute left, Fisher came up with a steal on the baseline. She was then fouled and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 19.6 seconds on the clock.
Libertyville still had a chance to tie, but Savannah Trees' 3 try was off the mark and Anna Morrissey secured her fourth rebound. It was Trees' 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer that pulled Libertyville within 18-17.
Like Fisher, Morrissey was fouled and sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to provide the game's final points.
Libertyville's Kristy Williams, who led all scorers with 21 points, never got a shot at the end, as Stevenson denied her the basketball.
"At the end, we were looking for Kristy," Wildcats coach Kathie Swanson said. "It wasn't there so it was Savannah (taking the shot).
"I don't know if we didn't have the shot (earlier in the possession) or we weren't ready to catch and shoot quick enough. But I'll give credit to Stevenson. I know their record's been up and down, but they can play really well."
Williams shot 7 of 18 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the stripe. The Wildcats' next highest scorer was sophomore Kaca Savatic, who had 5 points and 7 rebounds.
"We switched some people around, trying to give (Williams) different looks as far as who was guarding her," Betthauser said. "Courtney Graber really stepped up at the end there and I think made it tough on her to get comfortable looks."
Graber's left-corner 3 midway through the fourth gave Stevenson the lead for good at 34-31. Michelle O'Brien (10 points, two 3s) was the Patriots' only other double-digit scorer. Fisher, who was effective shooting her midrange pull-up jumper, was 6-of-13 shooting.
"Libertyville is a good team," Betthauser said. "They're just so fundamentally sound. They're disciplined and they make you work defensively for 30 seconds a possession."