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Stevenson patches up win over Mundelein

At first, Anna Morrissey barely even noticed the little cut on her pinkie finger.

But before long, her uniform was smeared with blood. In fact, the Stevenson senior got so bloody that she had to leave Wednesday’s regional game against Mundelein in the second half just to change into new shorts.

Bloodshed certainly was the theme of the night.

Morrissey set the tone long before her own finger began to bleed.

She was at the center of a fierce, punishing Stevenson attack that put the hurt on in a 63-43 victory over Mundelein in the semifinals of the Class 4A regional at Grant.

Morrissey scored a game-high 22 points and hit 4 three-pointers. She scored 12 of those points in a gigantic first quarter that saw the Patriots (21-8) finish with a 19-5 lead

“We just executed our plays well. We worked together. We always look for the open girl,” Morrissey said. “We also locked down on defense.”

The third-seeded Patriots, who have won seven of their last eight games and will play in Friday’s regional championship game against Barrington, locked down and threw away the key, especially early on.

Stevenson forced Mundelein into 14 turnovers in the first quarter alone. The Mustangs also hit just 2 of their 8 first-quarter shots.

The poor shooting for Mundelein continued in the second quarter and Mundelein took a 39-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Mundelein (13-18) finished with 21 turnovers.

“We held them to one shot at the basket. Our team defense was very good,” Stevenson coach Tom Dineen said. “It’s the third time we’ve played them. And it’s the old cliché, ‘It’s hard to beat a team three times in one season.’ I didn’t want to take any chances. I’ve been preaching for a couple of days that we needed to get a good start so that we could dictate the way the game is played.

“Defensively, we preach active hands and active feet and we forced a lot of turnovers and got a lot of steals. I really liked what we were able to do in the first half defensively.”

Senior Michelle O’Brien also had a big first half for the Patriots.

She scored 11 of her 13 points before halftime and was a thorn in Mundelein’s side defensively. O’Brien was responsible for a lot of deflections and steals.

“Our defense really led to our offense,” O’Brien said. “We were flying everywhere. Our hands were up, we were moving our feet and playing good help defense. We were getting out on shooters and deflecting passes.

“We are really athletic, tall and long. I think defense and stepping out into the passing lanes is one of our strengths.”

Balance was also a strength for the Patriots against Mundelein.

Eight players scored for Stevenson, including senior Ashley Niedermayer. She gave the Patriots a third double-figure scorer with 10 points.

Mundelein got double-figures out of Olivia Dunigan (13 points) and Amanda Davis (10 points).

“We had a deer-in-headlights kind of thing going,” Mundelein coach Brian Evans said. “We just had a hard time with their pressure and then if we couldn’t get it inside to Olivia, we just didn’t have much help for her on the outside.”

Dunigan, Mundelein’s leading scorer, had to work hard for all 13 of her points, 9 of which came after halftime. She was the primary focus of Stevenson’s relentless halfcourt defense.

“I would be in the post calling for the ball, but a lot of times I was double-teamed and triple-teamed,” Dunigan said. “When that happens, there’s got to be someone else open, but we didn’t always see that. Stevenson had us playing way too fast. We just needed to slow down.”

Images: Stevenson vs. Mundelein girls basketball

  Stevenson’s Michelle O’Brien looks for a shot in front of Mundelein’s Olivia Dunigan during Class 4A regional semifinal action at Grant High School. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson’s Anna Morrissey tries for a steal against Mundelein’s Becca Woit during Class 4A regional semifinal action at Grant High School. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson’s Ashley Niedermayer launches a pass from mid-court against Mundelein in Class 4A regional semifinal action at Grant High School. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com