Girls basketball: Another double-double for Klatt and a win for Stevenson

The only thing more difficult than pronouncing the surname of Warren girls basketball coach John Stanczykiewicz is preventing sublime Stevenson senior forward Emory Klatt from notching a double-double.

Stanczykiewicz’s host Blue Devils nearly achieved that feat Wednesday night in a North Suburban Conference clash in Gurnee.

The 6-foot-1, DePaul-bound Klatt — a double-double maven and a force in the paint — had 11 points and only 4 rebounds in the first half. She then grabbed 6 boards and struck for 5 points in the third quarter to complete her zillionth (or thereabouts) double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) in Stevenson’s 55-21 win.

But Klatt wasn’t the only Patriot who stood out in the rout. Senior point guard Nisha Musunuri poured in 15 points, 12 via 3-point buckets; senior guard Kendell Williams finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds; junior guard Sydney Rosland netted 9 points; reserve junior forward Michelle Dubilirer drilled a 3-pointer and came down with 3 boards in the fourth quarter; and junior guard Megs Seribo, another sub, took a pair of charges in the final period.

“That was our most complete game of the season,” said first-year Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael, whose fourth-ranked club (21-3, 10-0 in the NSC) led 34-12 at halftime and 46-17 after three quarters. “Our spirit and our heart impressed me.

“My team’s play, from start to finish, fired me up.”

And gave her goosebumps the size of mesas.

Carmichael also lauded assistant coach Eric Lueder for his role in the triumph. He executed it superbly before the tipoff on Warren’s Teacher Appreciation Night.

“Eric told our girls, ‘Have faith,’” Carmichael said. “He then added, ‘Put on that uniform and believe in your abilities and in your teammates … and know that the uniform means something, something bigger than you.’”

Musunuri’s second 3 of the night upped Stevenson’s lead to 17-6 in the first minute of the second quarter. Her next 3 followed a Warren timeout and widened the advantage to 20-8.

“Nisha,” Carmichael said, “is fearless and athletic, and she means everything to our team.”

The Blue Devils (13-9, 6-5), who lost by 16 points to Stevenson in the teams’ first meeting this winter, secured only one lead (4-3, at 5:06 of the first quarter) Wednesday night. Warren senior guard Shay Love (10 points) scored nearly half of her team’s points, while sophomore post player Jamila Bland pulled down a team-high 5 rebounds.

“That’s such a good team,” Stanczykiewicz said of the Patriots. “We did not match their players’ energy and intensity. We have to figure some things out; I’d like to do that before the first of our challenging games (Lake Zurich on Friday and Evanston on Saturday) this weekend.

“We have to find that energy, that positive vibe, that mojo that we played with earlier this season.”

Stevenson senior forward Laurel Jewell snared all 4 of her rebounds in the first half, when most phases of the visitors’ game were on point, from three-point shooting to stifling defense to inside play to transition baskets to slick passing.

“We showed our togetherness tonight, better than ever,” Musunuri said. “The way we pushed the ball, the way we communicated on defense … everything was solid.

“And (Lueder’s) speech got us more than ready and helped us a lot.”