The Kits fell short in a 43-39 brutal game at home against Glenbrook North, fouling out three of Evanston’s key players. Despite being the dominant team on the court, the Kits struggled to make their layups on offense, and fouled a lot on defense, giving GBN a majority of their points from the free-throw line.
“We didn’t do a good job of handling how physical they were, and we really allowed it to dictate the game, getting our key players in foul trouble,” head coach Brittany Johnson said.
The physicality was evident from the start, but the Kits managed to take a 6-0 lead with the help of senior Jayla Warren scoring the first bucket of the game. After a series of turnovers, GBN is able to take the lead ending the first quarter 9-8.
In the second quarter the Kits managed to dominate on defense. Three minutes in, junior Havana Van Wyk got a key steal for the Kits but nothing was able to come from it as Evanston struggled to get the ball through the hoop. The Kits couldn’t manage to reward themselves after strong defense, ending the half down by one in a 15-14 match.
“I thought we had good waves of momentum, but we need to keep them consistent throughout the whole game and not lose them when something doesn’t go our way.” junior Havana Van Wyk said.
The third quarter contained a series of missed foul shots and missed layups. Evanston star players sophomore Brielle Rosemond and Warren were in serious foul trouble, so other players stepped up to contribute on defense but also offense. Van Wyk drained a three, and freshman Charity Bryant found a bucket, the Kits tied up the game 23-23. The next two possessions by GBN resulted in 3 pointers, ending the quarter down 31-25.
Regardless of the score, Evanston came out firing on all forces in the fourth quarter. The Kits were determined to get the lead back, especially Bryant who drained two three pointers, securing a 35-34 lead.
“How we played in the fourth quarter should be our standard in the games going forward,” said Van Wyk.
Even though the kits redeemed themselves playing hard in the final quarter, Rosemond, Warren, and Van Wyk fouled out resulting in Evanston’s young players to take the court in a stressful environment.
“Every possession matters, and we didn’t treat the possessions at the end the way we should’ve,” commented Johnson.
Despite taking the lead, Evanston turned over the ball three times late in the fourth quarter, and the opposing team, in particular number 10, took advantage of these moments. The Kits took a timeout down 43-39 with 30 seconds to go in this nailbitting game but with one intercepted pass, the game was over.
“We’re young, we’re learning, definitely in a tough stretch, but I think we are setting ourselves up to be better at the end of the season.” Johnson said.
The team hopes to end their losing streak in their game today at home against St. Laurence.
