Girls Basketball: Record still in reach for Stevenson’s Dabrowski

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Mundelein's Taylor Davis tries to shoot over Stevenson's 6-foot-4 center Julia Dabrowski during Saturday's game. | Darrell Harmon~for Sun-Times Media

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:14AM

Just because Tom Dineen wasn’t coaching a team didn’t mean he was away from the world of girls basketball.

Before being hired as Stevenson’s head coach three years ago, he was teaching hoops on the side. That’s when he ran into a tall girl named Julia Dabrowski.

“She was one of my clients,” Dineen said. “Even way back then she had a very nice touch around the basket. She was very pleasant and a nice girl.”

Dabrowski was on the sophomore team for two years, and was a backup player a year ago.

Dineen checked the Stevenson record book for blocked shots. That’s where he found one of the top players in school history. Tauja Catchings, who played on two state championship teams at Stevenson, holds that mark with 188 career blocks.

It’s getting late in the 2011-12 season, and Dabrowski is at 155 blocks — just this season.

“She wanted to break the career record for blocked shots in one season,” Dineen said.

She’s had a few games where she’s reached double figures in blocked shots in a single game. In a recent win over Lake Forest, the senior checked in with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocks.

“This year, I can’t imagine where we would be without her,” Dineen said. “We can take chances defensively with her back there. She hasn’t fouled out of one game this year. And she has soft blocked shots, which are huge. That’s because she usually gets the rebound.”

Playoff preview: The Patriots won their 20th game of the season on Saturday, and that marks 20 wins or more in three straight seasons. And because of IHSA scheduling for the postseason, the Pats may have a chance to avenge their most painful loss of the season.

All Stevenson had to do was to knock off visiting Lake Zurich on Jan. 31. After all, the Pats owned eight straight wins over the Bears. Lake Zurich’s Katherine Anderson beat the clock with a jump shot to give Lake Zurich a 44-42 win. The loss knocked Stevenson out of a chance to play in the NSC title game on Feb. 8.

“(Coach) Chris (Bennett’s) teams always play very good defense,” Dineen said. “They are playing very well together.”

The loss still bothers Dineen.

“It’s killing me,” he said. “We wanted to play in the NSC title game against our neighbors down the street (Vernon Hills). But to (Anderson’s) credit, she buried the shot.”

Stevenson is headed to the Lake Zurich Regional and may have a chance to play the Bears for a regional crown.

First, the Pats must take care of Highland Park in the Lake Zurich Regional opener on Feb. 14. The Giants have a special player in Lena Munzer.

“Munzer is very good,” he said. “She can play at the next level. But we’ve had good success against them.”

Recap: One thing is clear, Mundelein doesn’t want to play Stevenson again this year. The Patriots (20-7, 9-3) played without the services of Taylor Buford and Olivia Whalen, and for the second time this season blasted the Mustangs.

“We really passed the ball well,” Dineen said. “We played 10 kids and they all played well.”

Dineen was also pleased with the work of freshman Sophia Way.

“She’s very offensive-minded,” he said. “She really responded. She wasn’t shy about shooting the ball. It was a good night for her.”