Girls Basketball: Evanston surges short-circuit Maine South

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Maine South freshman Nina Duric goes up for a basket during a varsity girls basketball game against Evanston at Evanston Township High School on Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. | Ryan Pagelow~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 27, 2012 8:25AM

When Maine South was struggling to hit outside shots Friday night against Evanston, the Hawks did the best they could to pound the ball inside, especially to forward Jacqui Grant.

The junior center led Maine South with 15 points, but it was not enough for the Hawks to overcome their shooting woes, as they suffered a 46-36 Central Suburban South defeat in Evanston.

It was only the second loss in the CSL South for Maine South, the other coming against New Trier. On Saturday, Maine South lost at Marian (15-8) in the Sweet 16 Tournament 54-44.

“We studied them hard, we saw that they played behind (in the paint),” explained Grant. “We tried very hard to get it in, we just have to make those simple post-up shots, myself included in that. Sometimes they just do not fall and tonight was one of those nights.”

Maine South (5-2, 20-3) missed 10 straight shots between the end of third quarter and into the fourth, a stretch that lasted over five minutes. The drought allowed Evanston to pad a one-point lead into a 37-27 cushion.

“We had a cold streak and they had a hot streak,” said Grant, who connected on 7-of-16 attempts and grabbed seven rebounds. “They took advantage of when we were not communicating and that is what killed us.

“Another thing (we needed to do) was to look inside before we shoot, because sometimes you just have to keep shooting because sooner or later they have to go in.”

Even though they shot just over 25 percent from the floor, the Hawks still managed to cut the deficit to 39-35 on a Kaitlyn Mullarkey (5 points) free throw with just under two minutes left in the contest.

Grant was the only Hawk to click for double figures, but senior forward Nina Duric totaled nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Duric’s second quarter bucket gave Maine South a 15-6 lead, but Evanston (3-4, 12-10) went on a 10-0 run toward the end of the half to trim the Hawks’ advantage to 18-16.

Michelle Maher managed just four free throws in the first half, while Mackenzie Duffy added a third quarter three-pointer.

The Hawks were limited to single digits in each of the last two quarters, while the Wildkits hit 58 percent (7-for-12) of their shots in the third quarter. Evanston sealed the game in the final minutes by knocking down 5-of-9 free-throw attempts.

Sophomore guard Seara Clayborn led Evanston with 14 points, while Sinclair Cunningham and Alecia Cooley each added 12.