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Girls basketball: Lake Zurich pulls even with Stevenson in North Suburban Conference race

After losing to Stevenson at home by 6 points in early December, visiting Lake Zurich was looking for some revenge against the Patriots Thursday night in North Suburban Conference girls basketball play.

And despite the final outcome going down to the final seconds, the Bears avenged that defeat with a 38-35 NSC victory to tie Stevenson for second place in the conference with identical 7-2 records.

Lake Zurich (14-6) was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 37.2 seconds of the game as two free throws by Creighton-bound Avery Cooper gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game at 38-32.

But a long 3-pointer by Stevenson's Nisha Musunuri (game-high 17 points) cut the lead to 38-35 to keep the Patriots' hopes alive with 14 seconds remaining.

Then the ninth turnover of the second half by the Bears on an inbounds play gave Stevenson (13-8) the ball right back with a chance to tie the game. But a long 3-point attempt by Sydney Rosland was off the mark with three seconds left as Lake Zurich grabbed the rebound to secure the narrow win.

"I'm proud of the kids, they made plays in the fourth quarter and we had a number of games like this, but we make it so hard on ourselves sometimes just with some bad fundamentals," said Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett, whose team hit 17 of 19 free throws. "It's a big win, l mean they got us at our place so it's nice to get them in their place and it's always a good rivalry."

The game was close from start to finish with the Pats leading 11-10 after one quarter, the score tied 18-18 at halftime, and the Bears ahead 26-25 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bears had balanced scoring with Layne Nordstrom scoring a team-high 9 points while Cooper, Leah Gilbertson, and Alex Nowak-Tice all scoring 8 points in the defensive struggle. Stevenson's Alexa Karcz had 5 points while teammate Reese McLelland chipped in 4 points.

"We struggled against their zone defense in the first half so moving the ball was important and we were able to get some kickouts," said Cooper. "We're on a streak right now (four wins in a row) so the goal is to keep it going as long as we can."

Stevenson had a 7-point run in the first half to take an 18-16 lead, but overall the Pats' offense struggled while only hitting 3-for-6 from the foul line in the contest.

"I was really proud of our defensive effort, obviously we're at a size disadvantage against them, but we played hard," said Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael, whose team only had 3 turnovers in the second half. "There was a stretch there in the fourth quarter where we came down and missed some shots and it became a two possession game. But credit to Lake Zurich, they played really hard and their defense was really solid."

  Lake Zurich’s Layne Nordstrom (11) and Avery Cooper battle for a rebound with Stevenson’s Michelle Dubilier in a girls basketball game in Lincolnshire on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson’s Reese Mclelland battles Lake Zurich’s Alex Nowak-Tice and Kaitlin Wahlund for a rebound in a girls basketball game in Lincolnshire on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. Nowak-Tice, left, came up with the ball. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson’s Nisha Musunuritries to steal the ball from Lake Zurich’s Leah Gilbertson in a girls basketball game in Lincolnshire on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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