Stevenson tops St. Charles East, wins at Schaumburg
Ashley Richardson may be a point guard with good vision, but the Stevenson sophomore didn't see this coming.
Tournament MVP at Schaumburg?
"I was surprised," a smiling Richardson said after scoring 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while also collecting 6 rebounds and 2 steals in Stevenson's 79-53 win over St. Charles East in what amounted to the championship game of the tourney Friday morning. "But it was an exciting moment. There are a lot of girls in this tournament that are really good."
Stevenson coach Tom Dineen wasn't surprised with the performance of Richardson, who averaged 14.2 points in helping the Patriots go 5-0.
"There was no question," Dineen said. "Coming in, although we had played well, she had been outstanding. And it continued today."
Taylor Buford led Stevenson with a season-high 22 points, 18 coming in the opening half. With the Patriots ahead by 23 points after three quarters, the senior sat out the fourth.
"My teammates really got me open," said Buford, who also had 8 rebounds, including 6 on the offensive glass, and 3 steals. "I felt like we needed to be aggressive with this team. They were our biggest competition of this tournament, and I felt we were ready for it. We had our shootaround before (the game), we had our game plan, and we knew we had to attack the basket, get rebounds and hit open shots."
Buford scored 8 points in the opening quarter and grabbed 4 offensive rebounds, as Stevenson ran out to a 23-10 lead against St. Charles East (4-1), which got a game-high 24 points from Washington University-commit Katie Claussner.
"Flat out, they made us look bad," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said of the Patriots. "They're just solid at every position. If you play them in a zone, they shoot from the outside, and if you play them in a man, they look to drive, and they do it very well."
While the Butler-bound Buford shined in the first half in helping Stevenson take a 41-24 lead into the break, fellow team captain Sophia Way led the Patriots' charge in the third quarter. The senior scored 9 of her 14 points and grabbed 4 of her team-high 11 rebounds, as Stevenson stretched its edge to 62-39 entering the fourth.
Janine Fajardo chipped in 9 points, including a pair of 3s, for the Patriots.
"They came ready to play," Dineen said of his players. "I thought we played well for four games, but today was our best game, against a very quality team."
Besides Richardson, Stevenson also placed Buford and Way on the all-tournament team. Richardson likes what she's seen from her team through five games.
"There's room to improve," she said. "But just the hustle we bring, the spirit and the lift we've been getting from the bench and the crowd have been awesome. I love playing basketball. I love playing basketball with this team. It's going to be a great season."
St. Charles East also received 11 points, including three 3-pointers, from Kelly Rinker and 9 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Sara Rosenfeldt. Claussner, who scored 12 of her team's first 14 points, and Kyra Washington, who was held scoreless, made the all-tourney team for the Saints.
"It almost looked like we didn't come to play," Drumtra said. "We got them in (the gym) early, we got them breakfast, and we got them running around. The whole point was, 'You need to be awake and play from the get-go.' And it looked like we had lead in our shoes."