There was no rhyme nor reason as to why Evergreen Park’s Tatum Harris got started in basketball, except maybe that she thought it would be enjoyable.
She was a fourth grader at Northeast Elementary School when fate stepped in.
“The signup sheet came out, and I thought that is was something I wanted to do and I thought it would be fun,” she said. “I was doing OK when I started. I was doing all right.
“Then I just kept getting better and better, and now I’m here.”
The 5-foot-10 junior forward keeps taking advantage of the here and now for the Mustangs.
Harris scored 16 points and added steals Tuesday night to lead young Evergreen Park to a 53-44 victory over host Lemont in a South Suburban Conference crossover game.
Junior forward Grace Kole added 11 points and four rebounds for the Mustangs (12-8, 3-2 SSC Red), while senior forward/center Kyziah Lewis chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore guard Vivian Antolak led Lemont (9-8, 3-3 SSC Blue) with 13 points. Freshman guard Claire Podrebarac scored 10 points off the bench, while Leah Plahm picked up nine rebounds.
Lemont played without senior point guard Lexi Reyna, its leading scorer, who was making college visits out east for academics, according to coach Tracy Rainey. She said Reyna should be back next week.
Harris, meanwhile, scored 10 points and added six steals in the first quarter of a wild game as Evergreen Park took a 28-11 lead after the first quarter but scored just 25 points the rest of the way en route to its fifth straight win.
“We got a little down,” Harris said on Lemont’s comeback attempts. “But as soon as we get down, we pick it right back up again. We picked it up and won.”
The steals also came in bulk for Harris during the first eight minutes for the Mustangs.
“What I do is get low in the defensive position and read the offensive player’s eyes,” Harris said. “Wherever they are looking, that’s where they tend to go and I attack it.”
Evergreen Park coach George Shimko said he has been emphasizing the defensive game for his team, so he appreciates Harris’ steals.
“She is having a wonderful year,” Shimko said of Harris. “She reads the passing lanes really well, and we’ve been working on that at practice.
“We’re teaching her, but she’s the one who is implementing it. We talk about reading shoulders and seeing where their person is at. She gets her hand on the ball and goes.”
Kole pointed out that Harris has brought confidence to the team. A varsity player for her whole career at Evergreen Park, Harris is having a breakout season as a junior.
“Last year, she wasn’t driving and shooting and all of that,” Kole said of Harris. “But this year, she really stepped it up. I’m really proud of her.”
As far as the team goes, Evergreen Park’s winning streak includes a 64-62 victory over Westinghouse in the third-place game of the Perspectives Leadership Holiday Tournament.
Harris scored 30 points in that one.
While the Mustangs have had their ups and downs in veteran coach Shimko’s first year at the school, they do have a roster featuring two juniors, five sophomores and a freshman.
Evergreen Park opened the season with three straight losses in the Bobby Bolton Classic in November, but the Mustangs have righted the ship.
“We have a new coach, it’s a new environment with new plays, and we had to learn about each other,” Harris said. “We had to figure out a way to start bringing wins in, and that’s what we did.
“We’re winning games now.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
