Girls basketball falls to New Trier in sectionals

By Paul Harris-Hertel

The ETHS girls basketball team’s season came to an end in the Niles North Sectional semifinals Monday night with a 57-37 loss to New Trier.

The Trevians jumped out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter and led 26-12 late in the second when the Kits went on a 9-1 run, keyed by Chabria Survillion. Her three-pointer and free throw early in the third quarter made the score 27-21 and were the biggest of her team-high 12 points.

“For us to be successful, she has to be aggressive at both ends of the court,” Wildkit head coach Steve Wool said of his senior point guard. “She hit a big three and finished her shots.”

But New Trier responded by ending the third quarter on an 18-6 run and headed into the fourth with an insurmountable 45-27 advantage.

Senior point guard Jenny Samuelson, led the Trevians with 16 points. Evanston’s inability to stop her in transition and prevent her from shooting open three-pointers was a big reason that New Trier took control of the game early.

“Transition defense was going to be one of the keys. We made that a major focus,” Wool said of his team’s pregame planning. “We just didn’t pick [Samuelson] up.”

Despite the loss, the Kits finished the season two games over .500 at 16-14. Wool claimed that as quite an achievement, considering the team was in rebuilding mode when the season began and two sophomores and a freshman were in prominent roles. He credited Survillion and his three other seniors, Candice Belcher, Kelly Byrdsong, and Anna Johnson, with providing the leadership critical to the young team’s success.

“I’ve said this team has been the most enjoyable I’ve ever coached, and that’s because of the seniors,” Wool explained. “They think of the chemistry first.

“We had three underclassmen starting, [so] two seniors came off the bench, and never once did they gripe about it,” Wool added. “That’s extremely hard to find in this day and age.”

Wool has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about next year, as three starters will return, including the top two scorers, Kim Davis and Darcell Retreage.

“We have a good nucleus,” the coach stated. “It’s a young team and there’s lots of potential. Kim’s an extremely hard-working young lady who will set the tone for the other players.”

Boys Basketball Beats New Trier, Captures Share of Conference Crown

By Paul Harris-Hertel

Who needs a hot start?

As long as Eric Hilbring is playing for the ETHS boys basketball team, not the Wildkits.

The senior standout scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and his four free throws late in the fourth quarter were the difference in the game as Evanston overcame a slow start to defeat New Trier 48-44 at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday.

"I'm not going to lie, I was nervous on the first [free throw] because I'm a little shaky in the Northwestern gym," said Hilbring. "After I knocked down the first one, I thought I'd get the next ones.

"I owed them one from last game," Hilbring added, referring to the Trevians. "I read everything they said in the papers after the last game," a 54-49 New Trier win.

Wildkit head coach Robert Locke has noticed Hilbring growing more confident throughout the season. Locke said the 6'5" forward was tentative at the beginning of the year after having offseason foot surgery, but with Hilbring's assertiveness back, his coach was more than happy to turn to him at crunch time.

"He's not afraid to jump on [the foot]," Locke said. "When he looks at me and points at himself, he wants the ball, and nine times out of 10 I'm going to give it to him."

The win was not only revenge for Evanston's loss to the Trevians earlier this season, but also left the Kits with a 9-1 record in the CSL South, good for a first-place tie with New Trier.

The Kits struggled in the first half, turning the ball over 10 times and missing all five of their free throw attempts. After trailing by 10 points at halftime, Evanston fell behind 40-27 when Locke called a timeout with 2:58 left in the third quarter.

The Kits responded with six quick unanswered points and outscored the Trevians 21-4 the rest of the way, taking their first lead of the game late in the fourth on a pair of free throws by senior guard Darrick Weeks, who finished with eight points.

While Evanston was scoring at one end, New Trier went cold at the other. The Trevians didn't score a field goal in the fourth quarter and shot just 3 for 9 from the free throw stripe in the final period. They also had eight turnovers in the fourth, including one on each of their last three possessions.

With the win, Evanston finishes the regular season at 18-8. It has been a long journey in a short period of time for Locke, who took over as head coach last year and saw his team finish fourth in conference and 10-16 overall, facts which made Thursday's triumph that much sweeter.

"A lot of people thought the things I was bringing to the program wouldn't work," Locke said. "What I enjoyed most about the game- of course I enjoy winning- but four or five guys came up after it was over and hugged me."

The boys' postseason begins in the Niles West Regional on Wednesday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. against Mather.

Girls Basketball Wins Regional Title

By Paul Harris-Hertel

With a pair of blowout wins last week, the ETHS girls basketball team captured the championship of the Evanston Regional.

The girls beat Roosevelt 78-31 in the regional semifinals on Tuesday and followed with a 43-25 victory over Lane Tech in Friday night's regional final.

After Roosevelt scored the first basket of the regional semifinal, the Kits scored 13 unanswered points en route to taking a 25-10 lead after one quarter. By halftime, Evanston had extended its lead to 30 points.

Junior forward Krystyna Williams led the Kits with 16 points off the bench, and fellow junior Briana McClure added 10.

"We kind of anticipated this would be the case," Evanston head coach Steve Wool said, following the lopsided win over Roosevelt. "This is the reward for a successful season and being a top-four seed. The thing is, we have got to take everybody seriously, or it's [the end of] our season."

The Kits extended that season by at least one more game with the win over Lane, which improved Evanston's record to 16-13. After the explosive offensive effort versus Roosevelt, the Kits' defense made the difference against the Indians, forcing 32 turnovers and holding Lane to nine field goals.

"I thought our defense was tremendous to start the game and it really carried us throughout the game," said Wool. "We felt we could pressure them. We did it the first time around [a 49-18 Evanston win in January] and we thought we could do it again."

Junior Darcell Retreage paced the Kits with 13 points, and freshman Janelle Cannon added seven.

Cannon and sophomore Nicole Brown were brought up to the varsity squad at the start of the playoffs and both saw playing time during the regional games. Cannon even got to run the offense in the win over Lane.

"It's an opportunity to get younger players experience and an opportunity for them to see what it's like at the varsity level," Wool explained. "Janelle and Nicole will be big parts of our future. [Janelle] is extremely talented for a freshman, but the biggest thing is her maturity."

The girls take on New Trier on Monday night in the Niles North Sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The Trevians were victorious in both regular-season meetings between the two teams, and Wool and his assistants are looking for adjustments they can make in order to continue their season.

"We've watched lots of tape on New Trier," Wool said. "We're trying to figure out some things we can tweak and also do things more effectively and smart."

"This group of young ladies is the most enjoyable group I've ever coached," said Wool, in his seventh year as head girls coach at ETHS. "I told the girls I don't want to lose because I still want to be in practice with them."

Boys Swimming Takes Third at Sectionals

By Paul Harris-Hertel

The Evanston 200 freestyle relay team of Matt Wich, Tommy Grossinger, Jack Wadden and Ben McBratney after qualifying for state with a third- place finish at sectionals. Photo By Paul Harris-Hertel

Success for the ETHS boys swimming team wasn't defined by winning this past Saturday's New Trier Sectional.

That the host Trevians would win was a foregone conclusion.

But the Wildkits finished in third place, coming closer than anticipated to runner-up Loyola and qualifying swimmers for the state meet in seven events.

"To watch the growth and improvement of these guys over the year is extremely rewarding," said Wildkit head coach Kevin Auger. "Six out of the 10 guys going to state are seniors, which speaks a lot to their progression. To make a big jump in their senior year speaks a lot to their dedication. They knew it was their time to step up and they did.

"Last year it was pretty much a one-man show," Auger continued, referring to Tim Silkaitis' all-important role on last year's squad that finished tied for 17th in the state. "If we score points this year it's going to be because a bunch of guys swam well."

All three Evanston relay teams qualified for the state meet, with the 400-yard relay team coming in second with a time of 3:17.74. The 200 medley relay team (1:40.16) and the 200 freestyle relay team (1:30.05) each got third.

Senior Ben Terry qualified in two events. He came in third in the 500 freestyle in 4:50.33 and finished fifth in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.77.

Two Kits will swim in the 100 breaststroke at the state meet. Senior Tommy Grossinger took fourth with a time of 1:10.45 and junior Ben McBratney's time of 1:01.86 was good for fifth.
McBratney also qualified in the 200 individual medley with a fifth-place time of 2:00.00.

The state meet takes place Friday and Saturday at New Trier. Evanston was originally scheduled to host the boys sectional, but after the whooping cough outbreak at New Trier in the fall forced the girls sectional to be held at Evanston, the boys sectional was moved to New Trier. The change was a welcome one for Auger.

"We've been hosting lots of meets, so it was nice to get a rest from hosting and just relax and watch the kids swim," Auger said.