Girls Basketball: Niles West trumps Maine South’s smother-Loyd strategy

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Niles West's Molly Kleppin is defended by Maine South's Nina Duric (22) and Katy Lohens during a basketball game in Skokie, Friday, January 27, 2012 I David Banks~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 3, 2012 8:26AM

A major bummer loomed for Niles West on its own court Friday night, as No. 8 Maine South, which trailed 31-17 three minutes into the third quarter, grabbed its first lead at 41-40 when ever-clutch Michelle Maher hit two free throws with just six seconds remaining in the fourth.

The Wolves were suddenly in danger of losing their fifth straight game to the rival Hawks, putting Maine South in the driver’s seat to repeat as CSL South champions. A planned postgame ceremony honoring senior superstar Jewell Loyd, who prefers walking barefoot on hot coals to losing to Maine South, would have been about as much fun as a funeral.

But Niles West, brilliantly improvising on the fly after a timeout, rejected that script. Guarded heavily at midcourt, Loyd spotted streaking sophomore southpaw Dashae Shumate, who caught the ball in stride on her strong side and banked in a short runner with a tick left on the clock for a 42-41 triumph.

“We were supposed to come up and set screens for Jewell, but they didn’t press and were all over her at midcourt. I stayed low and cut across instead,” Shumate said. “This is such a great feeling. I never made a game-winning shot before.”

The giddy Wolves briefly stopped dancing while athletic director David Rosengard saluted Loyd with genuine warmth, emotion and about half a truckload of apple juice and candy — her favorite munchie combo. The night could get no better, until Loyd learned that good friend Maggie Lyon had led New Trier to a 31-29 home win over No. 19 Glenbrook South.

Niles West (18-8, 6-2) was now alone in first place, a game ahead of Maine South (21-6, 5-3) and GBS (19-5, 5-3). By the time the euphoric Wolves were done kickin’ it, their gym floor needed a new coat of wax.

The Wolves smartly altered their game plan against the Hawks, who effectively overplay Loyd with an assortment of junk defenses — from triangle-and-two to box-and-one to tying her up at the ankles with a spare net when no one is looking. Niles West’s star looked to pass more to open teammates.

Junior co-captain Molly Kleppin (game-high 15 points) picked the ideal time to get — and stay — hot, complementing her consistently solid defense and floor game. Shumate (12 points), who will be the Wolves’ cornerstone player the next two years, stepped up as well. Three-point specialist Liz Troyk (sore arm) was not available.

“I wanted to contribute by scoring more,” said Kleppin, who pelted the visitors with 13 first-half points after scoring but one in her previous two games. “It definitely helps when I hit my first shot. I had a good feeling after that.”

Loyd happily settled for 12 points, to go with 16 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks. The Notre Dame recruit needs 45 more points to reach 3,000 for her career. She would become only the seventh girl in the state to score to reach that milestone, and the first from a school within 35 miles of Chicago. But winning is what drives Loyd.

“It was pretty funny in the timeout: ‘No, that’s not going to work. No, not that either. Or that,’ ” recalled Loyd. “We were loose and ready, and we just reacted to what they gave us. I wasn’t looking to score the whole game, and the last play went the same way.”

Maine South, which averages eight three-pointers per game, made only five after nailing 11 in its 65-55 win over Niles West on Dec. 9. The Hawks, who blew several layups, missed their first eight shots to fall behind 7-0, and doubled that deficit before storming back.

This was dramatic but not always efficient basketball, with the Wolves turning over the ball 20 times to the veteran Hawks’ unusually high 17. Niles West halted a 1-4 skid and sent Maine South, which is in a 1-5 funk, into an 0-3 slide.

“We ran our sets to death in practice — don’t leave (their shooters) alone on the outside,” said Wolves head coach Tony Konsewicz. “We did a nice job on defense, especially in the first half. Our problems lately have been poor starts, and still our bugaboo of too many unforced errors. We still need to cut way down on those. But this was a great win for our girls.”

The Wolves began the season at 10-0 and 13-1 before their schedule ramped up from difficult to brutal in the second half. Niles West, which has played 11 games against ranked teams, has absorbed losses (since Dec. 22) to No. 1 Whitney Young, No. 2 Bolingbrook, No. 3 Trinity, No. 14 Loyola and No. 20 Proviso East.

“We know we’ll take more losses with our schedule. But then our girls feel like they can beat anyone in our conference after facing the very best teams,” explained assistant coach Mike Parker.

The CSL South race, arguably the conference’s best ever, is far from over. Niles West hosts ascendant, revenge-minded Evanston (14-10, 4-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The athletic Wildkits felt they were robbed Dec. 16 in a 61-60 home defeat on a buzzer call that allowed Loyd to go to the line. Sierra Clayborn, twin of fellow guard Seara, came back from a knee injury two weeks later.

Niles West finishes the regular season at Glenbrook South’s Titan Dome — an expansive layout that tends to mess with the depth perception of visiting shooters — on Feb. 10. Maine South closes by hosting the Titans and Waukegan (2-18, 0-8).