Katie Fitzgerald knows the answer to this question:
How can a 4-6 girls basketball team overwhelm one that’s 8-3 and eager to crack the top 20?
That’s exactly what Stevenson did to Evanston Friday in the opening round of the Dundee-Crown Holiday Touranment. The Patriots rolled 59-42 and will meet third-ranked Fenwick in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
“If people looked at our schedule–Maine West, Maine South, Maria, Warren–they would see one of the toughest in the area,” Fitzgerald said.
The 5-foot-10-inch senior also had the answer on the court. She scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for Stevenson, which last season did the improbable by reaching the supersectionals with a sub-.500 team.
“I’m not going to let two last-second losses (to Maria and St. Ignatius) change my mind about this team,” said Stevenson coach Frank Mattucci, who believes that 4-6 coming into this game just as easily could have been 6-4.
“We’ve lost a lot of heartbreakers,” Fitzgerald said. “We weren’t going to let it happen today.”
Freshman Jenni Dant aided the Patriots’ cause with 10 points. Jenny Adamji led Evanston (8-4) with 12 points and Jenny Brown added 11.
Fenwick outscored York 25-6 in the third quarter on its way to a 58-37 victory. Sophomore Katie O’Grady led the Friars (10-1) with 18 points and freshman Claudette Towers added 10. Amy Dowiarz had eight for York (4-7).
The tournament’s other surprise was Naperville Central’s 47-44 victory over No. 12 Buffalo Grove. But was it a surprise?
“I think we have a pretty good team. It wasn’t a fluke,” said coach Andy Nussbaum.
It was the first time a Naperville Central team had beaten Buffalo Grove. Aubree Lawrence led the Redhawks (8-4) with 16 points and Laura Dodsworth added 12 and six rebounds. Christy Compobasso had 16 and Kendra Ryl 12 for Buffalo Grove (10-2).
Even without coach Joe Komaromy, host Dundee-Crown (11-1) rolled over Belvidere (9-3) 64-31, and the 14th-ranked Chargers are next for Naperville Central. Billee Russell lead all scorers with 20 points. Komaromy was serving a one-game suspension for receiving two technicals in his team’s recent victory over Grayslake.
In other games, No. 9 Maine West allowed Rockton Hononegah one point in the second quarter on its way to a 48-22 victory. Dawn Vana led the Warriors (11-1) with 17 points and six rebounds. Hononegah is 5-6. Maine West now faces Fremd, a 56-45 winner over defending tournament champion Resurrection. Erika Butler scored 15 and Margaret Fontana 10 for the 9-3 Vikings. Andrea Mendyk’s 16 led Resurrection (8-6), which also got 11 points and four blocked shots from 6-4 freshman Sarah Kwasinski.
Lockport (9-3) opened the tournament with a 56-48 victory over New Trier (6-6). Trisha Jakel, a 6-2 senior, had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Porters, who advance to face Class A power Byron. The Tigers (12-1) edged Libertyville 53-49 behind Jessica Schott’s 21 points and five rebounds.
