The Kits played rival team New Trier in a nail biting game Friday night and came up short of a victory. Despite coming back in the third quarter, the young team struggled to stay hungry and get a win for Evanston in front of the roaring crowds.
“New Trier just wanted the ball more, which is the most frustrating part,” head coach Brittany Johnson said.
However, the Kits came out strong in the first quarter with freshman Charity Bryant driving to the hoop for the first points of the game. The battle was evident between these two rival teams, as the Kits went back and forth with New Trier. Only having two minutes left in the quarter, the Kits grew tired as New Trier locked Evanston up on defense. The quarter ended 20-10, and the lack of shooting confidence was clear.
“We prepared on offense and defense by coming up with plays and ways to stop them on defense when we were in a certain place, but the execution wasn’t there tonight,” Bryant explained.
Junior Havana VanWyk was a great help on the offensive and defensive side, scoring 8 points in the second quarter and a defensive steal. Determined to not let this game get out of hand, the Kits put in a fabulous effort to cut the lead.
New Trier led by four points with less than a second but VanWyk managed to draw a foul. The junior made both of her foul shots, instilling fear in the opposing team as their lead was only a score away, ending the half 36-34.
The Kit’s started off the third quarter with a basket from Bryant putting them in the lead for the very first time. At this point fans started piling in to watch and the gym roared. The Kits tried to hold onto their lead but at the last second of the third the Trevians made a three-pointer to make the score 44-47 for New Trier.
“When we lost the lead again, instead of thinking that we can bring it up again, we had this mindset that we lost our chance,” VanWyk explained.
With their depleting spirits, the Kits main takeaway was subject to their lack of communication especially in the defensive aspect. In the end though, Johnson was proud of the team and their feats on offense.
“They got the shots we wanted them to and they knocked them down and sometimes you just have to live with that,” Johnson stated.
Evanston looks towards their next away game against Warren Township this Saturday to bounce back from this loss and bring back. This is their last opportunity to grab a win before playoff season and Johnson believes one more win can set them up for a good seeding.
“Next game I know we can bring the hustle, and the best thing to work on the game is to be more of a defensive player than offensive,” Charity said.