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Freshmen lead unbeaten Stevenson past Lake Forest

Stevenson's girls basketball program has a bright future ahead of it with a couple of talented freshmen.

Emory Klatt and Kendall Williams are both starters for the Patriots and they have already made themselves known through the first eight games of the season.

Klatt scored a career-high 17 points and Williams had 4 points, 8 rebounds and a few steals, which was enough for Stevenson to hold off Lake Forest 48-42 in a nonconference game at Twin Groves Middle School in Buffalo Grove on Monday night.

Klatt may be one of the new players for Stevenson (8-0), but she appears to be learning and fitting in pretty quickly.

“It's really nice to play with these girls and on a team like this,” Klatt said. “They bring so much energy every game and the bench helps out so much. It was like endless energy out there and that's what were looking for in a team. Coach (Ashley) Graham has been an inspiring person helping me out and a great coach giving me so much advice to the game. Definitely, Simone (Sawyer) helps me out and makes this so easy and is such a talented player.”

Sawyer also had a game-high 17 points, but had to leave the game early in the fourth quarter when she suffered an injury.

Stevenson had built an 18-point lead at that point, 44-26, a couple of minutes into the period. Lake Forest (3-4) had created a lot of pressure and chipped away at the lead late and closed to within 4 points before Klatt scored the final basket for the 6-point difference.

“Our freshmen, every single time on the floor, they take strides forward and get more confident,” Graham said. “They get game experience and our leaders continue to carry them along. It's really positive and it was a hard-fought game.”

Rachel Kaus lead the Scouts with 16 points.

“My kids just don't give up,” Lake Forest coach Stacey Leach said. “They fought hard, they had a scrappy fourth quarter and brought it close. We could've had a better shot down the stretch there. I can't be angry with the effort.”

  Stevenson's Simone Sawyer loses the ball against Lake Forest in a girls basketball game in Buffalo Grove Monday night, February 22, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Nikki Ware passes the ball to teammate Ava Bardic against Lake Forest in a girls basketball game in Buffalo Grove Monday night, February 22, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Emory Klatt shoots over Lake Forest's Katherine Malloy in a girls basketball game in Buffalo Grove Monday night, February 22, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Ava Bardic guards Lake Forest's Bella Ranallo in a girls basketball game in Buffalo Grove Monday night, February 22, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Lake Forest's Bella Ranallo strips the ball from Stevenson's Simone Sawyer in a girls basketball game in Buffalo Grove Monday night, February 22, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Lydia Lueck, right, and Ava Bardic force Lake Forest's Bella Ranallo to pass the ball out in a girls basketball game in Buffalo Grove Monday night, February 22, 2021. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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