Stevenson finally shakes pesky Zion-Benton
It wasn't easy, but it was a good start to the 2010-11 girls basketball season for host Stevenson on Monday night against Zion-Benton.
The Patriots held a slim 40-37 lead over the Zee-Bees entering the fourth quarter and they outscored the visitors 22-16 in the final eight minutes to capture a 62-53 North Suburban Conference Lake Division victory.
The first half was a defensive struggle. Zion-Benton took a 9-7 advantage after one quarter before Stevenson bounced back in the second quarter to take a 25-19 lead into halftime.
It looked like the Patriots were going to pull away late in the third quarter when a 3-point play by senior Ashley Niedermayer gave Stevenson its biggest lead at 40-29.
But Zion-Benton went on an 8-point run to end the third quarter. An outside shot by senior Kaitlyn Stabenow really put the pressure on the Patriots headed into the final quarter.
“This was an extremely tough first game, and trust me, I wasn't really looking forward to it,” said Patriots coach Tom Dineen, whose team hit 21 of 34 free throws in the contest. “They're going to be a factor not only in the league, but in the area too.”
A 3-point play by sophomore Kari Moffat to open the fourth quarter boosted the Patriots' lead to 43-37, but an inside basket by Zion-Benton's Morgan Garrett cut the gap to 43-39 with 7:23 to play.
That was as close as the Zee-Bees got. A pair of inside baskets by Western Michigan-bound senior Michelle O'Brien boosted the Patriots' lead to 47-39 before an inside hoop by Michigan State-bound senior Anna Morrissey made the score 49-39 with 6:11 remaining.
“We worked together as a team in the end and we executed our plays,” said Morrissey, who scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. “The team was a little nervous, but we worked through it.”
Four Patriots reached double figures in scoring including Morrissey, O'Brien (15 points, 10 rebounds), Niedermayer (11 points) and Moffat (10 points).
“I thought it was a great team effort and I thought the kids played very well for an opening game,” said Dineen. “Our kids made some big shots when the game was on the line, but we didn't panic and we kept our composure down the stretch.”
Zion-Benton was led by freshman Samantha Rodriguez with 13 points, and teammate Kayla Young added 9 points including three 3-pointers. Senior Helena Rodriguez added 8 points and Stabenow chipped in 7 points.