The old saying “better late than never” doesn’t necessarily ring true to the Zion-Benton girls basketball squad.
Stevenson arrived late to its meeting at Zion-Benton Wednesday night due to a problem with the team bus. But the No. 2 Patriots arrived with enough time to deliver a 54-37 pounding of the Zee-Bees in a North Suburban crossover game.
Zion-Benton opened the first quarter with 2-0 and 5-4 leads, but Stevenson (16-1) responded with a 17-0 run to take a 21-5 lead with 41 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Seniors Jenni Dant and Sia Drebos contributed seven and six points, respectively, to the run.
“Jenni Dant is the heart and soul of our team,” Stevenson coach Frank Mattucci said. “It’s her team and she took control out there tonight.”
Drebos finished with 15 points while Dant notched 12, although each senior only played about half the game.
“I thought we started off a little sluggish after we were late for the game because our bus broke down,” Mattucci said. “But I was confident in our starting five–if they gave us five good minutes at the outset of the game–that they could give our bench a little bit of cushion and some breathing room when we turned it over to them. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Candice Williams tallied nine points and six rebounds for Zion-Benton (3-15), which was plagued by 15 first-half turnovers.
Mother McAuley 45, Providence 35: Lauren Levine’s 11 points and eight rebounds guided the No. 5 Mighty Macs (14-0) in a non-conference game.
Fremd 54, Prospect 45: Maggie Fontana scored 22 points to go with seven steals giving the No. 8 Vikings (14-2) the edge in a non-conference contest. Brittani Cottrell and Vicki Faust had 14 and 11 points, respectively, for Prospect.
Barrington 49, Rolling Meadows 43: No. 19 Barrington was led by Nicky Eason’s 17 points and 12 rebounds. Lindsay Richards added 13 points as the Fillies (12-3) rallied from a one-point halftime deficit.
Bolingbrook 54, Crete-Monee 33: The Raiders (9-6) notched their fourth win in a row as Jenee Graham and Beth Little scored 13 points each.
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Hoffman Estates 71, Wheeling 40: The Hawks (10-6) cruised behind Mandy Mennella’s 28 points.
Loyola 40, Regina 22: Debbie Schick collected 15 points and 11 rebounds and Nell Murphy added 11 points to pace the Ramblers (11-7) in the GCAC Red. In the span of seven seasons, Loyola has won its last 10 games against Regina. Loyola broke the game open late in the second quarter with a 12-2 run to take the lead for good at 23-14 with 1:49 left in the half. Clarise Jones led Regina (8-8) with nine points.
St. Francis 44, St. Benedict 33: Courtney Murnane and Mollie Hogan scored 13 points apiece to spark the Spartans (9-9) in a non-conference game. Elyse Sanchez scored 11 points for St. Benedict (4-13).
St. Francis de Sales 35, Beecher 30: Gina Rose put in 16 points to lead the Pioneers (11-5). Megan Stluka and Jessica Williams scored 11 and 10 points, respectively for Beecher (7-7).
T.F. South 52, Bremen 47: Rochelle Chism put in 11 points to pace the Rebels (7-7, 3-0) in the SICA Central.
York 46, Glenbard West 32: Elizabeth Marcellus netted 17 points and Kelly Powell added 10 to lift York in the West Suburban Silver
Boys
Timothy Christian 59, Immaculate Conception 40: Josh Biesober tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Trojans (5-8).
Prosser tournament: Eric Rucker scored 17 points to lead Phillips past Jones 79-63. Dawaun Becton added 14 points for the Wildcats (4-7). Colby Beach’s 14 points led Jones (1-10). . . . Prosser (7-7) crushed Quigley 81-43 behind David Evers’ 22 points. Maurice Vaughn added 16 points for the Falcons (7-7). Jeff Johnson led Quigley (9-6) with 17 points. . . . John Vivetter and Daniel Alexander scored 12 points each to lead Olive Harvey (10-3) past Northridge Prep 58-57. Giovanni Roldan had 27 points for Northridge (11-5).
Senn tournament: Lamar Grimes scored 23 points as Gage Park routed Kelvyn Park 83-43. Pierre Alston added 19 points to go with Issac Owens’ 10 points and eight steals for the Owls (10-3).