O'Brien's court contributions power Stevenson
Stevenson sophomore Michelle O'Brien likes to hang out with her teammates during the basketball season. Some places, she notes, are better than others for doing this.
"My teammates are great to hang out with," O'Brien said. "But I would rather be on the floor with my teammates then on the bench."
O'Brien was saddled with foul trouble much of the first half in the Patriots North Suburban Lake Division contest at Libertyville Friday night. But when she returned, it turned out to be the shot in the arm Stevenson needed.
O'Brien scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and hauled in 12 rebounds as well to lead Stevenson to a 44-39 win over the Wildcats.
"Michelle really can do a little bit of everything for us," said Stevenson coach Trish Betthauser. "She is far too valuable for us for her to be on the bench."
Stevenson (4-3, 2-0) broke open a tight game to start the third quarter with an 11-0 run. The Patriots held Libertyville (3-6, 2-2) to just 1 field goal and 2 points in the first five minutes of the quarter in building a 27-17 lead.
Senior Kayla Fisher was a big spark for Stevenson during the run as she scored 6 of her 12 points in the spurt. Three straight jumpers from Fisher gave the Patriots a double-digit lead for the first time.
"I really thought we picked up our intensity to another level in the third quarter,' Betthauser said. "We were a little flat in the first quarter which surprised me. But Kayla hit those 3 shots in a row and that did get us going."
The lead grew to 40-27 on a 3-point play from Anna Morrissey midway through the fourth quarter before Libertyville finally got back on track.
The Wildcats responded with a run of their own to pull within 40-33 with 1:51 to go. Kristy Williams did her part, scoring 9 points in the fourth quarter. Despite a rare tough shooting night, Williams tied for scoring honors with Morrissey at 13 points.
"We just didn't shoot the ball well," said Libertyville coach Kathie Swanson. "Once we did finally get a few shots to fall, we got back into the game."
O'Brien and the Patriot defense did the most damage in the third quarter, forcing 5 Libertyville turnovers and holding the Wildcats to just 2 field goals in 15 attempts.