Girls Basketball: Taylor Johnson clutch down stretch as Lincoln-Way East tops Homewood-Flossmoor

Updated: December 15, 2011 9:38PM

Held down most of the game and with her team struggling in the fourth quarter, Lincoln-Way East senior point guard Taylor Johnson came through from the line with the game on the line.

Johnson hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute, including the last four, to finish the scoring in the game as the Griffins toppled Homewood-Flossmoor 47-40 in a key SouthWest Suburban Blue clash Thursday night in Frankfort.

“It was frustrating,” Johnson said. “They (H-F) play good defense and they slowed me down tonight. I just tried to make up for the shots I didn’t make by hitting my free throws. It’s OK, just as long as we win.”

Caitlin McMahon led East (7-0, 3-0) with 15 points and added 11 rebounds. Johnson finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, and scored all seven of the Griffins points in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings (9-3, 2-1) trailed 29-19 at halftime, but closed to 34-31 on a layup by senior guard Charnelle Reed with 1:18 left in the third quarter. East responded by finishing the quarter with a six-point flurry, including a steal and layup by Meaghan McMahon (6 points, 9 rebounds) at the buzzer to extend to a 40-31 lead after three.

Johnson scored on a layup to start the fourth quarter and extend the advantage to 11. But the Griffins started turning the ball over, committing nine of their 16 turnovers in the fourth quarter. But H-F shot just 3-of-15 from the field in the final quarter.

Reed, who finished with a game-high 18 points and added four boards, scored on a an old-fashioned three-point play to start a 9-1 Viking run. The free throw on the play, with 3:41 left in the game, gave Reed 1,000 career points at H-F.

She later hit a three-pointer and another trey, by Danielle Woolfolk (8 points) with 39 seconds remaining, cut the lead to 43-40 and set the stage for Johnson to hit her free throws.

“This was not one of Taylor’s better games,” East coach Jim Martin said. “But as a leader, she came through at the end. Her and Caitlin, who had another double, double, both did.”

Caitlin McMahon had eight of her points in the first quarter and East led 13-12 after one period. Ahead 15-14, Johnson and Nathalie Hill each scored four points in a 12-3 burst, which helped the Griffins to the 29-19 halftime lead.

Amena Brent added six points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, who were without starting forward Sydni Johnson - who banged her knee in a win over Lockport on Tuesday.

“We gave them to many easy points early,” H-F coach Dana Noble said. “For Charnelle to score 1,000 points is an accomplishment. Too bad it couldn’t have come in a W.”

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