Stevenson presses the issue vs. Lake Zurich
The Stevenson girls basketball team was forced to return to the drawing board at halftime of Tuesday's North Suburban Lake Division game against visiting Lake Zurich. The Bears led 25-18 and were primed to pull an upset.
"We thought we had a good defensive game plan to start out with, but we didn't execute at all," Stevenson coach Tom Dineen said.
So the Patriots came out for the third quarter and pressed full court for the whole half.
"What did we have to do lose?" Dineen asked.
The press forced Lake Zurich to play quicker than it wanted to, and the faster pace of the game energized the Patriots. Stevenson rallied for a 45-42 victory that was not secure until Lake Zurich guard Sarah Stauner just missed a long 3-pointer before the buzzer.
"From where I was standing, it looked good for a long time," Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said.
Stevenson knew it had to play dramatically better after halftime.
"We didn't defend in the first half; we were very sloppy," said Kelsey Simon, Stevenson's 6-foot-2 senior center. "When we pressed, it made them flustered."
The press also allowed Stevenson (13-4, 3-2) to get some baskets in transition. This was the Patriots' sixth consecutive victory. Lake Zurich dropped to 1-5 in division play.
"We created some offense from our defense," Dineen said.
Lake Zurich's inside-outside combination of senior forward Audrey Bauer and senior guard Gabby Chapa was potent throughout. Bauer scored a game-high 17 points, several of which came courtesy of pinpoint passes from Chapa. Bauer also grabbed 8 rebounds.
Chapa scored 13 points and was Lake Zurich's best outside threat.
"When she catches the ball in rhythm, she's a (great) shooter," Bennett said.
Lake Zurich led 30-23 midway through the third quarter, but Stevenson finished off the quarter on an 11-4 run.
"We played really well for 28 minutes," Bennett said. "They came after us on defense and we made a couple of mistakes."
With Stevenson winning 40-38, junior McKinley Imus came up with a loose ball under the basket and her layup gave the Patriots a 42-38 advantage.
"The good news is that we're learning how to win games like this," Dineen said.
Simon finished with a team-high 13 points and she blocked 4 shots. She was 5 of 6 from the line.
"I'm focusing on using my legs more to get the ball in the air," she said about her free throw shooting.
Stevenson senior Anna Morrissey and junior Michelle O'Brien scored 10 and 9 points, respectively.
In the end, Lake Zurich was poised for a breakthrough victory but came up a little short. The Bears did convert 14 of 16 free throws.
"We're getting closer, but we're not quite there yet," Bennett said. "We need to make a few more plays to pull off victories against good teams."