Stevenson hangs on against Zion-Benton
Immediately after committing a foul at a critical juncture Saturday afternoon, Zion-Benton junior forward Octavia Crump, a rebound machine, dashed nearly the length of the court in disbelief.
The sound of another whistle ensued. A referee had called a technical foul on Crump after the solo sprint in the fourth quarter.
She apparently was guilty of reacting too demonstratively to the initial call.
“This game had a little bit of everything,” Stevenson girls basketball coach Tom Dineen said after his visiting Patriots beat the Zee-Bees 46-40 in an NSC Lake Division game.
Bits, some big and some dinky:
Ÿ Stevenson's Pats Usain Bolt-ed to a 15-0 lead while Z-B missed its first 10 shots.
Ÿ Patriots senior forward Michelle O'Brien (game-high 19 points, team-best 11 rebounds) hit both free throws after the Crump foul and 1 of the 2 technicals, upping the visitors' advantage to 43-38 with 2:57 remaining.
Ÿ Stevenson junior Katie Batman provided an assist — without entering the game. She handed a bandage to O'Brien, who had sauntered toward her team's bench to halt a bleeding right knee in the third quarter.
Ÿ Dineen also got demonstrative, but his display along a sideline — an emphatic fist pump after a laser entry pass from Pats sophomore point guard Kari Moffat — didn't sting his team on the scoreboard.
Ÿ Stevenson attempted a paltry 2 shots in the fourth quarter, making 1 (an Ashley Niedermayer bucket at 4:57). But Dineen's club went 11-of-15 from the free-throw line in the frame.
Ÿ The Pats' win Saturday came exactly two months after their 62-53 defeat of Z-B in a season opener Nov. 15, and it erased most of the not-so-fond memories from Thursday's 43-30 loss to NSC Lake leader Libertyville.
Ÿ And, finally, Stevenson overcame Crump's 15 rebounds and Z-B's board superiority (35-25) to improve to 15-7, 6-2; Z-B slipped to 15-4, 5-3.
“We had a strong start and a strong finish,” said Moffat (7 points). “We had to come out with energy, with enthusiasm, and we did. The big lead we got right away – that was so important. We knew we would need that. We also knew Zion-Benton would probably fight back.”
Z-B trailed 19-7 after a quarter and 28-19 at the break. The hosts limited Stevenson to 5 points in the third quarter and produced a 7-0 run to pare the Pats' lead to 30-25. A put-back by Stevenson senior McKinley Imus (7 points), while getting fouled, preceded a stoppage in action while O'Brien affixed that bandage. Imus then netted the freebie to stretch the gap to a fairly comfortable 33-25.
Stevenson held its most precarious lead (40-38) at 3:01 of the fourth quarter, after a trey from Z-B freshman guard/forward Samantha Rodriguez (10 points, 8 boards).
“This was a huge win for us, and our kids kept their composure after it got pretty physical,” Dineen said. “Before the game, we knew it would take a miracle for us to finish first in our division, so we pretty much crossed that off our list of goals. But we beat a very good team (Z-B) twice, and both of the wins will be nice to have come seeding time (for the IHSA postseason).”
Niedermayer finished with 10 points for the Pats, and senior forward Anna Morrissey came down with 6 rebounds. Z-B' top scoring threat, senior forward Juanita Robinson, managed a quiet 12 points, though 6 came from 3-point real estate.
“We played like a team should play today,” O'Brien summed. “Finishing strong — we did that. And we moved the ball well. A lot of things went our way.”
Dear Dads: Moffat gets to view game tapes under her home roof on Game Days, thanks to the steady hand and creative eye of her father, Ray.
“You have to mention my father, too,” O'Brien said after Saturday's win. “He (John) gave me good advice after all the mistakes I made against Libertyville (on Thursday). He told me to play stronger, to play bigger.”