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Stevenson dumps Lake Zurich for 1st sectional title since 2001

Simone Sawyer spent nearly as much time on the floor as she did upright Thursday night in the Class 4A Warren girls basketball sectional final.

Forget the 12 points that Stevenson's breathless, 5-foot-10 guard scored in the Patriots' 46-26 defeat of Lake Zurich's Bears. Sawyer's all-out hustle, want-to, grit and countless hardwood slides and bounces helped Stevenson capture its first sectional title since the 2000-01 season.

She hit the floor to recover loose ball after loose ball after loose ball.

Stevenson's ceiling, a handful of days from the wonderful hoops month of March?

Perhaps it's too high to see.

Stevenson (33-2) faces Loyola Academy in the Hersey supersectional Monday at 7 p.m. LA's Ramblers (31-3) downed Maine South's Hawks 42-34 in the Glenbrook South sectional final Thursday night in Glenview.

Coach Ashley Graham's relentless Patriots used a 16-4 run that bridged the first and second quarters to secure a 21-13 lead in the final minute of the first half Thursday night. Four Pats - Sawyer, senior guard Ava Bardic, sophomore guard/forward Emory Klatt and sophomore guard Kendell Williams - tallied at least 4 points apiece in the first 16 minutes, as the top-seeded club from Lincolnshire took a 21-13 advantage at the break.

Sixth-seeded Lake Zurich (20-12) was limited to 4 points in the second stanza.

Bardic finished with a game-high 14 points, including her team's only 3-pointer. Junior forward Kate Arne netted 8 points - all coming after the first quarter - grabbed 4 rebounds and swatted 2 shots. Klatt and Williams each struck for 6 points.

Klatt, averaging a double-double this winter, came down with a game-high 13 rebounds.

Stevenson, which swept the regular-season series against LZ, opened the third quarter on an impressive 15-3 burst and led 36-20 after three frames.

Junior guard Baylie Parks and sophomore forward Anna Gilbertson paced LZ's Bears with 9 points apiece. The sharpshooting Parks fouled out with 5:48 left in the final quarter.

Bears senior standout Alayna Soukup scored only 2 points but nearly matched Sawyer's tip-to-final-buzzer determination in other areas of the game.

  Stevenson's Simone Sawyer and Lake Zurich's Alayna Soukup chase a loose ball in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Emory Klatt tries to control a rebound against Lake Zurich's Avery Cooper and Brooke Wahlund in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Lake Zurich's Avery Cooper looks for room against Stevenson's Ava Bardic and Kate Arne, right, in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Simone Sawyer and Lake Zurich's Baylie Parks chase a loose ball in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Emory Klatt falls as she battles with Lake Zurich's Avery Cooper in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Kate Arne tries to block a shot by Lake Zurich's Brooke Wahlund in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Lake Zurich's Anna Gilbertson spins to get around Stevenson's Kate Arne in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Simone Sawyer battles against Lake Zurich's Brooke Wahlund and Avery Cooper in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Emory Klatt makes a move against Lake Zurich's Alayna Soukup as Baylie Parks reaches for the ball in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Emory Klatt and Lake Zurich's Kaylie Piggott chase a loose ball in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Emory Klatt shoots against Lake Zurich's Kaylie Piggott in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Kendell Williams and Emory Klatt, right, battle with Lake Zurich's Brooke Wahlund for a rebound in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Simone Sawyer commits a foul against Lake Zurich's Alayna Soukup in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Kendell Williams scores against Lake Zurich in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Stevenson's Ava Bardic loses the ball under pressure from Lake Zurich's Baylie Parks and Anna Gilbertson, right, in the Class 4A Warren sectional final in Gurnee Thursday, February 24, 2022. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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