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Girls Basketball: Lincoln-Way North claims tourney title over Oak Lawn
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: December 21, 2011 9:38PM
The third time — and the three-point line — were the charm Wednesday night for No. 7 Lincoln-Way North in claiming its first Oak Lawn Varsity Girls Holiday Tournament title.
The Phoenix, which finished second the previous two seasons, rode the arc to a 47-28 victory in the championship game over the host Spartans.
Sophomore Sam Pietruszynski was a key sharpshooter for Lincoln-Way North. It was her pair of treys, along with a three-point play by Stephanie Pearson, in the third period that allowed the Phoenix to turn a 20-17 deficit into a 26-22 lead.
Pietruszynski finished with 17 points and Ashley Weringa 14 as North improved to 10-2. Jannah Mahmoud had seven points and seven rebounds, and LaTondra Brooks and Jill Steigerwald six points each for Oak Lawn (8-5).
“We love coming here,” North coach Jim Nair said. “There are some good teams, and we’re happy to come out of this one on top. First one for the school.”
It didn’t come without an early challenge from the Spartans, who parlayed their excellent effort against Romeoville on Tuesday into a solid first half against North.
Oak Lawn trailed 11-4, but bounced back at the end of the first period and the start of the second. The Spartans caught and passed the Phoenix early in the third period on a layup by Steigerwald that made it 18-17, and extended to 20-17 on a turnaround bank-in by Mahmoud.
North, meanwhile, had no luck working the ball inside against Oak Lawn, and was 1-for-9 from three-point range.
That changed when Pietruszynski popped a three to tie it up.
“We came out slow, but we talked at halftime and said we had to get it together,” Pietruszynski said. “The team really just played defense, got rebounds, and our bigs really opened up some shots for us.”
Stunningly, Pietruszynski and Weringa would go 7-for-8 from three-point range the rest of the way as the Phoenix quickly pulled away.
“We’re a very good shooting team when we’re patient and make good passes,” Nair said. “It took us a while get into a rhythm. Oak Lawn did a real nice job with their zone. We finally found some openings and some gaps and knocked down some shots.”
For the Spartans, it was a tough end to a productive seven-day stretch that saw them play a solid first half against Hillcrest, and beat Evergreen Park, Rich East and Romeoville in tournament play.
“I think when they started pressing we started losing control of the ball,” Oak Lawn point guard Brooke Annerino said. “It went downhill from there.
“But overall, we’re passing more and breaking up the floor much better. We just need a little more confidence, and to stay positive.”
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