Nobody played much defense for Evanston’s girls basketball team in the first half of Friday’s showdown at New Trier’s new gym.
Then it was Camille Calixte’s turn.
The 5-foot-5 inch freshman, who has spent most of the season on the junior varsity squad, helped the Wildkits turn the tables on the Trevians in the second half on their way to a 79-68 conquest of their rivals.
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Simply by staying in front of her foe --- New Trier point guard Katherine Saccaro --- Calixte spearheaded a defensive effort that forced 10 turnovers in the third quarter alone, and helped the Wildkits erase an eight-point halftime deficit in the Central Suburban League South division battle.
Kailey Starks scored 24 of her total 28 points in the second half, also adding a game-high 14 rebounds, and Zuri Ransom (19 points) and Arianna Milam-Pryor (15) also reached double figures for the winners. Evanston concluded league play with a 6-4 record and improved to 12-14 overall.
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New Trier (15-13, 3-7) forged a 36-28 advantage in the first half behind guard Sela Klein, but Klein only tallied three of her total 22 points in the second half. Saccaro (14 points) and Charlotte Delin (13) backed her up but couldn’t prevent the regular season sweep of their rivals by ETHS.
New Trier still leads the head-to-head all-time series with 64 victories to 44 for Evanston.
Calixte’s pesky presence forced several traveling violations by the hosts in the third period when their lead disappeared. The freshman, an unlikely hero, hasn’t been able to earn many varsity minutes even when Ransom missed eight games with a concussion last month.
She rose to the occasion when the spotlight was on Friday night.
“Any time I’ve seen her play on the lower levels, what she really does well is stay in front of the girl she’s guarding,” said ETHS head coach Brittanny Johnson. “You have to give Coach Ransom (assistant coach Travis Ransom) credit for that move. He made the call --- and it was the perfect call.
“Our game plan was to try to force a lot of turnovers like the first time we played them. We’ve had different freshmen make plays for us all year and Camille was ready for the moment. That was awesome.”
“I had one job tonight, and that was to play defense,” Calixte said. “I was very surprised when I got the call, but I felt like I was ready for it. Defense is 100 percent what I do best, and I know that’s how I’m going to get on the floor.
“It’s not as easy covering varsity guards as it is covering JV guards. I just try to do the best I can.”
Evanston erupted for 27 points in the third quarter, taking advantage of those extra possessions and converting 10-of-13 chances at the free throw line. For the game, the Kits connected on 22-of-28 tries and outscored New Trier 22-12 at the stripe, a rare occurrence in the 50 years the two rivals have played each other.
How physical was the contest? For one thing, even Johnson took a charge with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Evanston coach was knocked into the scorer’s table when Milam-Pryor flew to the sidelines chasing a loose ball. Johnson stayed down for about 30 seconds before play resumed.
It certainly wasn’t too physical for Starks, who thrives on contact, couldn’t be stopped in the paint, and sank 12-of-14 at the free throw line on the night.
“I like going hard when it’s physical like that,” said the senior standout. “I played football when I was younger, you know. This is the most physical game we’ve had this year. I’m just happy we won. It was hard for me at first because against their triangle and two, I couldn’t see my windows (offensive openings).”
The Wildkits used a 19-2 run to take charge in the third quarter, as Ransom’s steal and layup at the 3:17 mark provided their first lead since the first quarter. That made it 40-38, just after a 3-point shot by sophomore Havana Van Wyk had pulled the Kits into a tie.
Evanston muscled its way to a 55-45 edge after three quarters and pushed that edge to 20 points before the hosts cut the final margin to 11.
“Our offense has been pretty fluid lately,” Johnson noted. “We haven’t scored like this since my first year here.
“It was definitely a physical game. I thought it was well-officiated because they let the kids play. It took Zuri and Kailey a half to get going --- that junk defense really shouldn’t have worked that well. They just had to work through it. Kailey didn’t allow herself to be guarded in the second half, and that’s the mindset we’re going to need from both of them to make a run in the state playoffs.”
Despite an overall losing record that included an 11-game losing string when Ransom was on the shelf, the Wildkits were voted the No. 4 seed for the Class 4A Maine South Sectional grouping. Loyola Academy, Maine South and Glenbrook South were awarded the top three seeds in the 17-team field.
Evanston will be matched against the No. 14 seed, Niles North, at the Niles North Regional on February 12th at 6 p.m. Winner of that game will face the Glenbrook North-Leyden winner for the regional championship on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the sectional semifinals.
