Imus, Stevenson take another tourney

Stevenson has shown it has quickly learned how to win in a tournament setting.

The Patriots' girls basketball team won the Maine West Tip-Off Classic after Thanksgiving.

And Stevenson picked up its second tourney trophy of the season on Monday night, defeating Niles West 44-35 in the championship game of the Suburban Holiday Showcase at Trinity in River Forest.

"This was the second opportunity for these kids to win a trophy," Stevenson coach Tom Dineen said. "Hopefully we can get a couple more. These kids came out and they were awesome, with a great team effort."

Up and down the Patriots' lineup were important contributions. McKinley Imus led the way with a career-high 14 points, and Kelsey Simon added 13 points, 7 blocked shots and pulled down 6 rebounds. Katie Batman came off the bench and provided 8 rebounds, and Anna Morrissey helped hold one of the state's best guards, Jewell Loyd, to 6 points.

"We're a team where some of the kids deserve more notoriety," Dineen said. "We held our composure down the stretch and these kids are learning how to win."

The Patriots (12-4, 5-0) found themselves falling behind midway through the second quarter, trailing Niles West 20-19. The Wolves' Jaclyn Gremley had 4 points of her game-high 17 points in the first half for a 24-19 lead at the break.

Stevenson picked up its intensity in the third quarter. Batman hit a well-timed 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining, which put the Patriots up for good at 29-26.

"I just did what I needed to do for the team," Batman said. "I know I can shoot them and just do it."

Stevenson also outscored Niles West 12-2 in the quarter as the Wolves were just 1-for-10 from the field.

"We had a bad third quarter and scored just 2 points," Niles West coach Tony Konsewicz said. "Stevenson was a very good team and it was a combination of a couple of things - Jewell getting double-teamed, and a lot of standing around."

Imus opened the final quarter with back-to-back baskets in a 6-point Stevenson spurt which extended the lead to 37-29 with 3:12 left.

"I just had some great passes from Kari Moffat and Kelsey Simon," Imus said. "I'm not really a scorer, but I'm just playing my role for the team."

Niles West (15-3, 4-1) cut the lead to 38-35 on Gremley's 19-foot jumper with 50 seconds remaining.

Stevenson scored the final 6 points from the foul line, where Michelle O'Brien scored all 4 of her points and Moffat had 2 of her 8 points.