On Friday, Feb. 5, spurred on by a raucous New Trier crowd, NT girls basketball was able to pull out a 62-61 win against rival Evanston Township.

McDonald’s All American Jeannie Boehm lead New Trier in scoring Friday night against rival Evanston as she normally does in big game situations.

Sharp Shooter Kathryn Pedi also helped surged New Trier’s offense and defense dropping 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

But the biggest play of the game came from Junior Katherine Gjertsen in the very last minute of the game. Evanston had the ball in the final minute trailing by one when Gjertsen stepped in and made an incredible steal. After going the length of the court she was fouled and put on the line.

Despite failing to score, Gjertsen was able to put the game out of reach for the Wildkits. Their only hope was a last second half court heave that Evanston guard Savannah Norfleet was unable to capitalize on.

“I’m a defensive player,” Gjertsen said. “That’s where I make most of my contributions.” And Gjertsen’s contributions couldn’t come at any better time. Boehm fouled out in the last minute leaving the game in the hands of New Trier’s strong defense.

The game was as expected, a battle among two of the best high school teams in the state. The Evanston and New Trier rivalry is one of the oldest in the state with a history of emotional, intense games. The matchup on Friday was no different.

“The Evanston game is always exciting because of the tradition of the rivalry,” Gjertsen said. “Both teams always bring their best effort and the games are always intense.”

Evanston was led by Savannah Norfleet who had 18 points and four rebounds. Amori Wool also contributed 16 points with seven rebounds. The game was a back and forth battle from the tip off, but key plays from Gjertsen extended New Trier’s undefeated conference play to 9-0.

“Our game plan for Evanston was to prevent penetration on defense,” said Boehm, “It was also important to prevent them from getting offensive rebounds.”

Another key contributor to the Trevians late game heroics was Shayle Arenson who drained two threes in fourth quarter. New Trier was struggling to find the netting in the last few minutes, but Arenson’s threes helped the Trevians gain some momentum back.

“We have so many players that can come off the bench and bring a ton of energy,” says Boehm. “It’s great to know that we have so many players that can step up in pressure situations.”

This is the fifth time New Trier has defeated Evanston in the last two seasons and the second time they have taken their rival down this year.
Boehm later explained the importance of this win: “This win gives us a lot of confidence heading into the playoffs because we pretty much secured the conference championship.”

With the win against Evanston, New Trier improved their impressive record to 23-4 on the season and there are high expectations for the rest of the year.

“We are really excited about playoffs,” Boehm explained. “Sectional finals are not going to be easy, but the way we’re playing now, I have confidence that things will go our way.”

New Trier is ranked No. 7 in state right now and hope to go far into the playoffs for the second straight year. Last year, New Trier made it all the way to the state semi-finals, but lost 57-28 to Fremd.

The Trevians are looking to close conference play Friday, February 12 at Maine South. A win would make them 10-0 in conference.