Stevenson pulls away from York in second half

LINCOLNSHIRE – After getting off to a slow start, host Stevenson was looking to get its offense going against York on Thursday night in nonconference girls basketball action in Lincolnshire.

And despite some full-court pressure by York (11-15), Stevenson pulled away in the second half to post a 44-23 victory as it outscored the Dukes 24-16 in the final 16 minutes.

The Patriots held a slim 8-5 lead after one quarter of the defensive struggle before they went on a 12-1 surge to take an 18-6 lead late in the second quarter as the shorthanded Dukes suffered through some cold shooting in the first half.

Senior Nisha Musunuri scored all 10 of her points in the first half as the Patriots took a 20-7 lead into halftime.

York’s already young squad started three sophomores and two juniors. Senior leading scorer Anna Filosa missed the game due to illness. Filosa just hit the 1,000-point milestone Tuesday against Lyons.

Stevenson senior Sydney Rosland (game-high 12 points) really got rolling in the second half when she hit her fourth 3-pointer to give the Pats their biggest lead of the game at 34-12 with 7:43 to play.

“At this point in the season I really want us playing our best. We started the game with four or five consecutive turnovers and it’s a tough way to start,” said Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael, whose team led 31-12 after three quarters after a last-second 3-pointer by Michelle Dubilirer. “I think our defense was really solid. We had a great defensive effort, so I’m really proud of that and it’s really fun to watch them just kind of jell.”

The Dukes' zone defense kept Stevenson off guard, but the Patriots did get eight points from Reese McLelland and seven points from Alexa Karcz on high-percentage shots and rebound baskets. York was led by sophomore Briley O’Brien with eight points and teammate Amelie van Heukelum with five points.

“We just had trouble putting the ball in the hole, but I thought defensively in the first half we forced turnover after turnover and we couldn’t convert them,” said York coach Brandon Collings. “Without Anna (Filosa) we were looking to get rolling in the first quarter, but we missed some easy shots early and we never got on track offensively.”

Stevenson will have a tough test on Saturday when it plays a road game against Prospect.

“At the beginning we were a little bit frantic from their zone defense, but we got it together and we really calmed down, which helped us break it,” Rosland said. “We had really good ball movement, which helped us break their press and that’s what got us the open shots.”

Besides Filosa, Musunuri also surpassed the 1,000-point plateau when she became the 14th player in school history to reach that mark Jan. 4 against Evanston.

Girls basketball: Stevenson gets the better of shorthanded York