It’s been a season of milestones for Stevenson girls basketball and coach Tom Dineen.
In January, Dineen won his 800th career game. On Feb. 6, Stevenson (25-4) completed an undefeated North Suburban Lake regular season with a blowout win over Lake Forest. On Wednesday night, the Patriots hosted Antioch and were gunning for their first North Suburban Conference championship in Dineen’s six seasons as coach.
But the Sequoits didn’t cooperate. Antioch (26-3) made its first six three-point shots, steamrolling Stevenson with 40 first-half points. The Patriots never recovered, losing the NSC title game 68-54.
“Congratulations to Antioch. They are very good,” Dineen said. “They deserve to be champions. No excuses. They shot the ball very well and defensively we had no answers. It makes for a long game.”
Stevenson all-conference senior forward Taylor Buford did not play because of academic reasons. Buford said her absence was due to a miscommunication regarding a class assignment.
If Buford had played, the outcome may not have changed. Antioch shot 28-for-53 from the field, including 7-for-15 from three-point range. Much of the Sequoits’ production came as a result of the electrifying play of sophomore point guard Ashley Reiser. The 5-4 Reiser led all scorers with 26 points, hitting shots from all angles on the court, inside and out.
“She has such a quick release, but she can also get the ball to her teammates,” Dineen said of Reiser, who added five assists. “She’s tough. One of the better players we’ve seen this year.”
Down 40-27 at the break, Stevenson never reduced the deficit the entire second half. Antioch led by as much as 22 points at 58-36 with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Having to play catch-up, Patriots guards Ashley Richardson and Sophia Way (16 points) drove aggressively to the basket. But there was no room to maneuver, not with Antioch 6-1 center Carly McCameron roaming under the basket. McCameron finished with six blocks and 21 points.
For the game, Stevenson shot 15-for-51 (29 percent).
“We played solid defense. Defense wins games. [McCameron] was awesome. She really stepped up, finished strong and got rebounds,” Reiser said. “We went out there tonight and killed it.”
The Patriots get a week off before opening up postseason play. Stevenson is a No. 4 seed in the Class 4A Palatine Sectional. On Feb. 18, the Patriots play the winner of the Feb. 16 Mundelein-Carmel quarterfinal game in the Carmel Regional.
Dineen said while the loss is disappointing, the result doesn’t erase a historic regular season.
“I thought the girls battled hard until the end. They are exhausted and I’m proud of that,” Dineen said. “And I’m proud of the fact we went 12-0 in the Lake Division.”