Seniors moment for Oak Forest

After a less-than-stellar first half Thursday against Oak Lawn, Oak Forest seniors Becky Bylina and Jenny Swanson had their work cut out for them.

Showing senior leadership, the duo took over a back-and-forth game in the second half, leading the Bengals to a 62-54 home win in a South Suburban crossover.

"We were struggling bringing (the ball) in and out and it wasn't opening up our shooters," Bylina said. "I knew I had to step it up so we could open up our shooters, especially Jen shooting her threes."

Bylina (11 points, 9 rebounds) did just that, scoring six points in the third quarter, with her basket off an offensive rebound putting Oak Forest ahead 37-36.

Oak Lawn's Kat Barrow (20 points) responded with a basket inside, but Swanson took advantage on the perimeter.

With 16.3 seconds left in the third period, Swanson (18 points, 15 in the second half) missed a 3-pointer from the corner but was fouled. She calmly hit all three free throws as Oak Forest (7-10, 3-1) went ahead 40-38.

Oak Lawn then missed a layup and there was enough time for the Bengals to take one more shot. Swanson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 43-38.

"It boosted me up and the rest of the team, and buzzer-beaters are always good," Swanson said with a smile. "Then it helped with our defense to boost us up and win the game."

With momentum fully on its side, Oak Forest kept on firing in the fourth quarter. Bylina tallied two more buckets inside as part of a 21-8 run.

"From the bench we forget sometimes what an advantage we have with Becky in (the post)," Oak Forest coach Steve Schanz said. "Becky posted up and rebounded unbelievably in the second half."

Down late, the Spartans didn't go quietly, drawing within four points on a laup by Bridget Niemiec (15 points) with 40 seconds to go.

In the closing seconds, Swanson drilled four straight free throws to ice the game. The senior got some redemption after missing a key free throw in a recent win over Lockport.

"At the end of practice, (coach Schanz) made me shoot a one-and-one free throw so I was used to it," Swanson said. "At the end, I was going to make it."

Kristyne Smyth (10 points) and Katie Swanson (9 points) contributed for the Bengals.

Jill Postregna chipped in 11 points for the Spartans, who fell to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

"Physically and intensity-wise, we gave it all we had," Oak Lawn coach Janet Haubenreiser said. "We didn't execute and make good decisions so it was more of a mental loss than a physical loss."