Stevenson makes it 3 for 3 against Libertyville

Anna Morrissey struggled to make sense of it all, and who could blame the sophomore?

While it may indeed be hard to beat a basketball team three times in one season, Stevenson's girls pulled it off, and did it the hard way.

The Patriots played three tight games with Libertyville and prevailed each time. Their latest triumph, 39-36 in a Class 4A regional semifinal at Lake Zurich on Tuesday night, earned them a berth in the regional finals for the third straight year.

Tenth-seeded Stevenson (12-16) will play host and No. 2 seed Lake Zurich (26-5) for the regional championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Go figure. Seventh-seeded Libertyville (19-10) upset Lake Zurich twice this season but couldn't beat Stevenson in three chances. Lake Zurich beat Stevenson twice, by 10 points and by 19 points.

"We just play hard," said Morrissey, who led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, including a couple of clutch ones in the final seconds. "We just work hard."

"It was nice to see our kids on the floor after loose balls," said coach Trish Betthauser, whose Patriots won a pair of five-point decisions over Libertyville during North Suburban Lake Division play. "I think they got inspired (from watching Lake Zurich defeat Buffalo Grove in the first game). The Lake Zurich kids are always on the floor after loose balls. I think that needs to be a trademark of ours, too."

Kristy Williams led Libertyville with 10 points, but the senior guard had only 2 in the second half after injuring her hand in the first half. She had started the game on fire, with 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Williams shot only 1 of 9 after halftime.

"She didn't say anything, but I know (her hand) bothered her," Wildcats coach Kathie Swanson said. "She wants to play."

Swanson thought a key swing in the momentum occurred late in the first half. The Wildcats led 19-12 but surrendered back-to-back buckets to Michelle O'Brien (12 points, 8 rebounds) in the final 31 seconds.

"We made some mental mistakes and it hurt us," Swanson said.

Libertyville still led 26-25 after three quarters, but Stevenson took the lead for good a minute into the fourth on a layup by Kelsey Simon (8 points), but the advantage to six and held on.

Despite the quick exit from the state tournament, the Wildcats might have been the biggest surprise in Lake County this season.

"Nobody had them picked for 19 wins," said Swanson, whose team also got 7 points apiece from Savannah Trees and Kaca Savatic (10 rebounds).

"I'm extremely proud of them. I'm extremely proud of my seniors. More so than anything else, this loss hurts when it comes to them. I've been with that group since they were freshman (as freshman coach). I wanted them to go out with a chance for a regional championship."

Lake Zurich 62, Buffalo Grove 44: Olivia Allen and Audrey Bauer combined for 47 points, but the story of the regional semifinal might have been another player's point total.

Which was zero.

Lake Zurich's Lydia Bauer held Buffalo Grove's Andrea DiPrima scoreless in the second-seeded Bears' 62-44 win at Lake Zurich.

When Lake Zurich defeated Buffalo Grove 51-44 on Dec. 17, DiPrima sank seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points. On Tuesday, DiPrima attempted only 4 shots.

"Lydia did a good job," said Allen, who scored a game-high 25 points, 1 shy of her season best. "She shut her down. Lydia was the big person for us today."

Allen and Audrey Bauer were big, too, in helping Lake Zurich (26-5) earn a berth in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. regional final against No. 10 Stevenson, while ending the season for No. 15 Buffalo Grove (11-21).

Allen scored 8 points in the opening quarter on 4-of-4 shooting in helping the Bears race out to a 14-6 lead. The Bradley-bound senior finished with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, as well.

"They don't box out that much so you just go to the basket and get a rebound," said Allen, who was 10 of 13 from the floor. "That's what I did. I kept going to the basket. I'd go up strong and do layups. That's all I had, really, was layups. I don't think I even made a jumpshot."

Audrey Bauer wound up with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 assists. Lydia Bauer and Sarah Stauner each had 6 points.

Buffalo Grove was led by Stacey Lialios and Heather Nisbet with 15 and 14 points, respectively.