Amidst a cacophony of foot-stomping from Maine South’s crowd, senior Zuri Ransom lined up for two foul shots with just nine seconds left in the fourth quarter. After netting both points, the Kits prematurely celebrated a 47-44 victory over the Hawks— but the game wasn’t over yet. Moments later, Maine South’s Meegan Fahy lobbed a three-point shot with less than a second to go, tying up the score and sending the game into overtime.

During overtime, Maine South scored 17 points in four minutes (more than they had scored in a single quarter during regular time) to clinch a victory. Though the Kits held a lead for most of the second half, a last-minute lapse in energy and focus was ultimately their downfall, as the Hawks—especially point guard Fahy—pulled in rebound after rebound relentlessly to secure the 64-53 win.

“It was a war of attrition,” said head coach Brittany Johnson in an email. “We got tired and fatigued during overtime and ran out of gas. [Maine South] didn’t, so credit to them. They deserved to win.”

The game began with Maine South (12-0, 4-0 CSL)) taking a lead within two minutes, one that the Hawks would hold for most of the first half. The Hawks avoided turnovers throughout the first quarter, , allowing them to outcompete the Kits (7-2, 3-1) to end the first quarter with a 16-10 lead.

In the last two and a half minutes of the low-scoring second quarter, Evanston posted seven points while keeping the Hawks scoreless. A buzzer-beating three-point shot by senior Arianna Milam-Pryor kept the Kits in it, as they went into half down just one,  20-19. Out of half, Evanston kept the energy up.

“We forced them out of their comfort zone, which was our goal defensively,” said Johnson. “The turning point was the third quarter. They had to go pretty deep into their bench, and we were able to make a run. We were able to sustain that by just taking shots.”

The third quarter saw the Kits almost doubling their score while both schools got into foul trouble, with Maine South pulling multiple athletes from the bench. Three points from Ransom put the Kits into the lead going into the fourth quarter, a lead the team would hold onto throughout the fourth quarter when Fahy tied the game.

“Defensively, we played really well, up until overtime,” said Johnson. “I would have liked to see us rebounding the ball better. I don’t think we did a really good job of keeping them off the board.”

Fahy contributed 25 points throughout the night, earning the 1000th (and 1001st, and 1002nd) of her high school career during overtime. While Ransom was slow to the net as well, like Fahy scoring none in the first quarter, she picked up six of the team’s nine points in the second quarter, eventually netting 25 in total to tie Fahy. Senior teammate Kailey Starks earned 16.

“We expected Meegan Fahy to play well, and she did,” said Johnson. “She hit big shots when she needed to. [Milam-Pryor] controlled the team really well from the point guard position,” said Johnson. “She was able to get us into the space where we could handle Maine South’s pressure.”

The game was the team’s first conference loss of the season after wins against Glenbrook South, Deerfield and Glenbrook North. 

“I think the biggest lesson that we’re going to take away is how to handle those late-game situations,” said Johnson. “I don’t feel like we’ve handled the last two minutes of the game well at all. They didn’t execute it [down the stretch] and make the big plays they needed to.”

The next matchup for the Kits is at Stevenson (7-1) on Monday, Dec. 18. The Patriots are currently on a five-game win streak.

“Stevenson is a much different team,” said coach Johnson. “They’re going to play us a lot differently. They’re more of an inside-outside team, and we just have one day to prepare for them. I know everyone’s pretty down about the loss today, but hopefully we can use it as a catalyst to finish the first part of our season.”

The team then takes on New Trier at home on Thursday, Dec. 21. The Trevians (7-4) lost 53-28 to Maine South on Dec. 1.

“Everybody’s pretty down about the loss today,” said Johnson. “Hopefully we can use it as a catalyst to finish the first part of our season.”