Girls Basketball: Evanston defense shuts down Von Steuben

Updated: February 14, 2012 10:26PM

No. 6 Evanston opened the postseason with a fine defensive effort, holding No. 12 Von Steuben to just nine field goals in a 52-24 win on Tuesday in the Evanston Regional semifinal.

The Wildkits (16-12) advanced to Friday’s regional final (7:30 p.m.) against No. 4 seed Loyola, which defeated Maine East earlier Tuesday. The Ramblers defeated the Wildkits 36-26 in a non-conference game in December.

On Tuesday, Evanston shot just 21-for-60 from the field, but dominated the offensive glass. Senior Sinclair Cunningham led the way with 13 points, junior Alecia Cooley had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Wildkits had 14 steals in the contest.

“We just knew we haven’t been making the shots we’ve been taking, but our defense sets up our offense,” Cunningham said. “We run hard, get steals, look for the open player and get the basket.”

The home team led 13-4 after one quarter, 25-8 at the half and 34-11 after three quarters. Von Steuben (18-6) didn’t reach double figures until 2:19 remained in the third.

“Our girls executed and played hard defensively, didn’t give up many offensive rebounds,” Evanston head coach Elliot Whitefield said. “As long as our effort is there defensively (against Loyola), we’ll have a shot.”

Senior Amber Johnson led Von Steuben with 15 points.

“We have a young team. But that’s not why we played the way we played,” Panthers head coach Lanh Morris said. “Evanston is a fine program, they play summer ball all summer. I have kids who are just really developing their game. Right now, I have to take this game in stride and hope we get better next year. I think we’ll take this as a learning experience.”

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