The jury is still out on just how much the quality of high school girls basketball will be improved when the Illinois High School Association puts the 35-second shot clock into effect in the 2026-27 season.
Coaches in the Central Suburban League, however, voted to get a jump on the competition by requiring the clock’s use for all varsity games this season. And the adjustment is still taking place at all of those schools, including Evanston.
Friday night against New Trier, the Wildkits tossed up a season-high 26 3-point attempts --- sinking 7 of them --- and not all of them would be considered “good” shots in the flow of the regular offense. But that didn’t prevent the hosts from dominating the Trevians for the second time this season in a 62-41 victory at Beardsley Gymnasium.
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Charity Bryant’s 26 points and double figure performances from Payton King (15 points) and Havana Van Wyk (14) enabled the Wildkits to bounce back from an overtime loss to Maine South. They’re still on the Hawks’ heels in the conference chase while improving to 7-6 overall.
New Trier (7-12), clearly one of the most challenged offensive teams in the CSL, was led by Emerson Buck’s 16 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided.
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The evolution of the girls game still finds even ranked teams with only two or three players on their varsity rosters who could be considered good shooters. So coaches like Evanston’s Brittanny Johnson, who has always been in favor of a shot clock, will have to learn to live with the occasional bad shot to beat the clock from someone whose strength isn’t shooting.
On the other hand, getting players to play with more aggressiveness and a sense of urgency to beat the clock could bring the level of play up.
“We’ve tried to get the shot clock for our non-conference games, too, but none of the other coaches wanted to do it,” Johnson said. “So we’ll only get to use it for six games this year. It definitely is an adjustment for coaches, and for the girls.
“We want to go out firing (on offense) and we don’t call them ‘bad’ shots because we want everyone to shoot with confidence. It was a confidence issue for us last year (with players who were reluctant to shoot), and 26 tonight was probably too many for us. We’ll watch the film tomorrow and tell them what’s a good shot, and what isn’t.
“It’s a learning situation. This is only our 13th game, and with our schedule the way it is (no Christmas tournament this year) other teams have played way more games. We do practice with the shot clock, but the only clock (at ETHS) is in the main gym and most of our practices are in an auxiliary gym. So sometimes I count it down myself, but that’s not the best way to do it and that could be a reason our timing might be a little off.”
The Kits missed 7 3-point attempts in the first quarter, most of them rushed, before settling in to a better rhythm.
Van Wyk, a senior forward, fired in a couple of treys and shot 6-of-16 from the field overall, a big step forward for a player who was one of those reluctant shooters since joining the program after moving here from Australia.
Ask her now and she’ll tell you that even a bad shot is better than a shot clock violation.
“At least on a bad shot, you tried,” she pointed out. “It was a difficult adjustment at the start of the season because, a lot of times, no one wanted to take that last shot (with the clock running down). Now, I think that when the clock gets down to about 8 seconds, any shot is a good shot.
“I was taking lots of shots tonight because that’s one of our offensive goals, to take any open shot when we get it. I’m supposed to be a shooter and now when I miss, I don’t let that stop me. When I DON’T take a shot, that’s really being selfish. Coach Travis (Ransom) is always saying that shooters don’t remember their misses, and I have to think I’m going to make every shot.”
The Wildkits didn’t make every shot Friday, but tallied more points by halftime (25) than New Trier scored in three quarters (22). And the hosts finished with a flourish, shooting 9-of-11 from the field in the fourth quarter already up by 16 points.
Bryant, who didn’t start, was a game-changer coming off the bench with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor. The versatile sophomore canned 4 3-point baskets as part of her total.
New Trier still leads the all-time series head-to-head with 66 wins to 46 for Evanston.
