Lady Devils shine at home against Kelly Walsh, 65-51

Don Cogger, Herald Sports Editor
Posted 2/10/23

The Evanston High School girls’ basketball team played host to Kelly Walsh last Friday and were anything but gracious, outplaying the Lady Trojans in every facet of the game in a 65-51 win, the first of the season at home.

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Lady Devils shine at home against Kelly Walsh, 65-51

Posted

The Evanston High School girls’ basketball team played host to Kelly Walsh last Friday and were anything but gracious, outplaying the Lady Trojans in every facet of the game in a 65-51 win, the first of the season at home.

Three Lady Devils scored in double figures, led by senior post Emily Sawyer, who had a career night with 21 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

“I thought we went out and executed our offense really well,” said EHS head coach Steven Neal. “I thought we played pretty chippy defense, took care of the ball when we needed to, got it inside a lot better than we have been in the past – Emily Sawyer had a great game for us, she did a fantastic job. It was just a real team effort.”

Kelly Walsh (2-11, 1-1 in 4A NW Quadrant) seemed to have the early advantage, though the Lady Devils kept it close, down just 13-10 after one quarter of play. Evanston blew the game open in the second quarter, however, as their shots began to fall, and Sawyer began her assault on the rim from underneath. The Lady Devils outscored the visitors 25-10 in the second quarter, and led 35-23 at the break.

“We got Kelly Walsh in foul trouble, and we hit our free throws, which is something we’ve struggled with throughout the year,” Neal said. “We also started hitting some shots, both outside and inside. The shots started falling for us, and we were creating opportunities.”

The two teams played tight for much of the second half, though the Lady Trojans were unable to make up any of the ground lost in the second quarter. When the dust settled, Evanston was victorious for the fourth time this season, 65-51.

“Halle Brady was hitting her shots, and Ellie Asay hit some shots in the fourth,” Neal said. “We spread out the offense, and were able to get the ball inside, and once we were able to do that, we were able to work it outside a lot easier. We got into some foul trouble, so we had some players come in off the bench and contribute some valuable minutes for us. It was just a great overall team effort.”

Joining Sawyer in the double-figures club were fellow seniors Halle Brady and Kendall Fessler, who finished with 14 points