Patriots upset Mustangs

There was a huge sigh of relief and smiles all around from the Stevenson girls basketball team and coach Trish Betthauser when the buzzer sounded Thursday night.

The Patriots pulled off a stunning 50-49 victory over host Mundelein in a North Suburban Lake Division game -- but not without some anxious moments.

Mundelein (16-5, 2-3) had a couple of shots bounce off the rim in the final seconds -- and Stevenson (6-15, 3-2) almost let a 9-point lead slip out of its hands by not scoring a single point in nearly the final four minutes.

But the Patriots held on to win their second straight game.

"You can't single out anybody with the way they played," Betthauser said. "I hope this is the beginning of definitely more."

Betthauser credited much of the Patriots' success with five straight days of practice after New Year's Day.

"We're somewhat young and practice is such a valuable thing for us." Betthauser said. "It kind of boosted us out there."

The Mustangs had been riding a four-game winning streak that included several victories on their Arizona holiday road trip last week.

They got off to a hot start, leading 11-2 at one point in the first quarter and 14-6 starting the second.

But things had already started to change.

"Stevenson outhustled us in every aspect of the game," said Mustangs coach Brian Evans. "(Stevenson) came out and adjusted from the first five minutes of the game. They got to every loose ball and played with confidence.

"We played with a lack of confidence and stopped playing defense for some reason."

The Patriots were down 18-10 a couple minutes into the second quarter, but their shots started to fall and their zone defense began working.

"I'm not a big fan of it," Betthouser said of the zone. "I'll do anything to win. It allows players to play for a longer period of time."

Patriots junior Kayla Fisher got hot, scoring 11 of her game-high 16 points during a 16-2 run that closed out the first half. She capped the streak by hitting a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give the Patriots a 26-20 lead at intermission.

"I was just really pumped and the pace was going so fast," Fisher said. "I guess I was getting a hot hand and everything was going in."

The Patriots extended their lead to 40-29 when Michelle O'Brien (8 points and 11 rebounds) converted a rebound and short jumper with 2:43 left.

The Mustangs scored the next 8 points. Toni Knarr had an impressive steal and a length-of-the-court layup that beat the buzzer and left Mundelein trailing 40-37 heading into the final quarter.

The Patriots regained some composure and extended their lead to 50-41 when Caitlin Morrissey (13 points, 5 rebounds) sank a short jumper.

But the Mustangs responded with 8 straight points. J.J. Sawchuk (7 rebounds) scored 6 of her team-high 11 points, and Olivia Dunigan added 2 free throws with 36 seconds left.

"Bottom line, we gave up 20 points in the second quarter," Evans said. "Then, we don't deserve to win. We don't deserve any credit. Give all of the credit to Stevenson."

The Mustangs' Samantha Panitch had a team-high 11 points. Anna Morrissey added 6 points and 4 rebounds.

Courtney Graber chipped in 5 points for the Patriots.