Girls basketball: Stevenson meets challenge, knocks off Lake Zurich
It took the Stevenson girls basketball team more than six minutes to make its first fourth quarter field goal and the Patriots spent most of the final frame holding onto a 1-point lead against Lake Zurich.
Senior Nisha Musunuri, however, never worried.
Musunuri made three free throws in the final minute and added an assist to Alexa Karcz for a basket to help lead the Patriots to a 38-32 victory on the road.
“I was not worried for some reason,” Musunuri said. “I kind of knew we were going to win. I don’t know why. The effort we were giving was the best we had all season.”
The Patriots (4-2 overall, 2-0 North Suburban Conference) led for most of the game and were led in scoring by Musunuri’s 15 points and three assists, while Sydney Rosland added 12 points and two assists.
Musunuri missed her first four shot attempts to start the game, but kept attacking. She nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Stevenson a 15-13 lead after one quarter and followed it up with her team’s first two baskets of the second quarter and assisted on a 3-pointer by Rosland.
“I have the mindset that I just have to shoot my way out of it,” Musunuri said about starting the game in a shooting slump. “I just have to keep shooting. They are good shots for me and they will start falling.”
Lake Zurich entered the game with a clear size advantage with four starters standing at 6 foot tall or higher.
Stevenson utilized its speed to create turnovers and limit the Bears’ offense in the paint.
“Our message was no one was going to outhustle us and no one was going to be more physical than we are,” Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael said. “They are a really great offensive rebounding team. … I really want to give credit to my team. They did a good job at executing our game plan.”
Leah Gilbertson had five points for Lake Zurich (4-2, 1-1) late in the third quarter and Molly Friesen started the fourth with a 3 to get within 1. However, Stevenson was able to hold on.
“I like how we continued to fight even though we weren’t playing well,” Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said. “But you have to make plays to win it and we did not make enough plays.”
Friesen and Avery Cooper each had nine points, while Gilbertson added eight for the Bears.
“Lake Zurich, it’s no joke going against them,” Carmichael said. “They are a really deep and tough team. They are hard-nosed and really well coached. We knew it was going to be a huge challenge.”