Stevenson cruises against Crane

After winning 677 games and a state title while at Buffalo Grove, first-year Stevenson girls basketball coach Tom Dineen knows what his team's mission is this season.

"I came into a program that had a very good reputation," Dineen said. "Recently, (Stevenson) hasn't been as successful as they used to be. So I came over here to help them win championships. That's the goal that we all have together."

The Patriots are certainly playing competitively under Dineen, winning their third straight Saturday.

Stevenson knocked off Crane Tech 59-38 in the third round of the Maine West Tip-Off Classic.

Stevenson remained undefeated at 3-0 in the tournament and is 3-1 on the season.

Stevenson's Michelle O'Brien led all scorers with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. She also tied for the team lead with Anna Morrissey and Kelsey Simon with 6 rebounds.

"Michelle is affectionately a gym rat," Dineen said. "She's the first one in the gym and the last one out of there. On the court she plays as well as could be. She is all over the place and does so many things for us at both ends."

Crane coach Keith Sanders tipped his hat to O'Brien.

"She should be all-state this year," Sanders said. "She plays all aspects of the game well and we just couldn't stop her."

"We were excited about playing today," O'Brien said. "We moved the ball well on offense and played a great defense."

Morrissey also had an outstanding game by scoring 15 points and recording 5 steals.

"We knew that Crane was going to be tough for us today," Morrissey said. "We just played great on offense."

Simon added 9 points, while freshman point guard Kari Moffat dished out 4 assists for the Patriots.

Jakyra Westmoreland led Crane (0-3, 1-3) with 10 points, including two 3s, while Ruvanna Campbell and Hilda Banks each added 8 points.

Campbell also had 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Stevenson led 29-16 at halftime and then put together an 18-0 run.

"We are a very young team, "Sanders said. "Stevenson has excellent offense and defense and we just couldn't compete with them today."