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the Lockport Legend | November 30, 2017 | 47
fastbreak
Girls Basketball
Lockport beats Richards to run record to 3-0
Adam Jomant/22nd Century
Media
1st and 3
Lockport boys
basketball comes
up short against
Providence
1. First game of
campaign
The Celtics boys
basketball team
beat Lockport 45-
35 on Nov. 20 in
an opening round
game in the WJOL
Thanksgiving Classic.
It was the season
opener for both
teams.
2. Leading scorers for
each team
Adam Taylor led the
way with 11 points
for the Celtics,
and senior Porters
forward Deondre
Cooper had a gamehigh
13 points.
3. Plenty of chances
to play
Both teams used a
number of players
in the first game. A
dozen players saw
time on the court
for the Porters, and
Lockport also had
eight individuals
score.
Team cuts down its
turnovers in home
victory
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
Balance beat boom.
The Lockport Township
girls basketball team continued
its nice start to the season
last week by using another
balanced scoring attack to
hold off Richards 50-46 in an
early season battle of unbeaten
teams in a matinee special
Nov. 22 at Lockport.
Taylor Hopkins had 13
points, Taylor Shingler
scored 10 and Destiny Davis
added nine points. But the
all-senior Lockport trio’s 32
combined points was just one
more than Bulldog Halle Idowu’s
31 points. The 5-foot-
10 sophomore swing player
scored 20 points in the fourth
quarter alone, but it wasn’t
enough, as the Porters (3-0)
held on to win.
“She’s a great ballplayer,
and they can score,” Lockport
coach Dan Kelly said of
Idowu and Richards. “But we
worked a ton on being organized.
We knew we had to cut
down on our turnovers [34 in
the previous game, a 47-41
win against Downers Grove
North]. Our goal was 20, and
we had 18, We’d still like to
get it down to 10 to 15 per
game.”
The Porters did have some
turnovers down the stretch
“Everyone can contribute. The
other team isn’t able to focus on
one player. We don’t get as tired
because we can all trust each other,
including the players off the
bench.”
Taylor Shingler — Lockport girls basketball player,
on her team’s depth
but were able to hold on.
They led 38-24 after three
quarters, only to see that lead
cut to 42-36 with 4:19 to
play in the game. But things
looked to be in good hands
when Shingler found junior
forward Cailey Schlink on
a nice pass underneath for
layup and a 48-38 lead with
1:12 to play.
“Our coach says keep the
ball moving,” Shingler said.
“Everyone can contribute.
The other team isn’t able to
focus on one player. We don’t
get as tired because we can
all trust each other, including
the players off the bench.”
The one player on the other
team had other ideas, however,
as Idowu nailed a 3-pointer
and followed that with
a steal and layup. She was
fouled on the play but missed
the free throw with 46.2 seconds
remaining, leaving the
score at 48-43.
Hopkins scored a layup
with 32 seconds left to restore
the advantage to seven.
Idowu, who scored all her
team’s points in the fourth
quarter except for a rebound
basket by senior guard Christine
Philemy, answered with
a 26-foot 3-pointer from the
left wing with just over 16
seconds remaining. Following
a timeout, the Porters
were able to run 10 seconds
off the clock. Although they
missed a free throw at the sixsecond
mark, it was too late,
as Richards miss fired a final
shot at the buzzer.
Lockport had nine different
players score, including
sophomore center Jenna Cotter
with six points.
“We have a lot of kids that
can play,” Kelly said. “We
have a lot of players that contribute
without scoring.”
Hopkins scored five points
in the first quarter, which
Destiny Davis scored nine points for the Porters in the
team’s win over Richards on Nov. 22 in Lockport.
22nd Century Media File Photo
ended in a 13-13 tie. The
Porters pulled out to a 22-
18 halftime lead, as Shingler
scored six in the opening half.
With Lockport ahead 29-24
midway through the third
quarter, Shingler had four
straight points, and junior
guard Payton Grcevic capped
a 9-0 burst with a 3-pointer,
as the Porters opened up the
14-point lead.
Shingler, a softball standout
and center fielder for the
Porters this past spring, will
attend Maryville University
in St. Louis for softball next
fall. But she’s certainly enjoying
another season of basketball
this winter.
“It’s fun,” Shingler said of
the season so far. “We have
a lot of young girls, and it’s
fun to mix with them. We’ve
just all come together to help
the team. I just like how well
we all play with each other.
We’re all friends, and we
pick each other up on and off
the court.”
Long before any of the current
players were born, Lockport
actually played Richards
in the 1986 Class AA state
quarterfinals. There, Richards
rallied in the second half
for a 47-46 victory. The Bulldogs
went on to finish fourth
in the state.
The Porters resumed play
this week with a pair of nonconference
road games, first
on Monday, Nov. 27, at Joliet
West, and then on Saturday,
Dec. 2, at 2:30 p.m. at Minooka.
A good local test for
Lockport will be on Tuesday,
Dec. 5 with a 6:30 p.m. game
against Lincoln-Way West in
New Lenox.
LISTEN UP
“We had some good looks around the basket, but we missed
too many easy shots, too many layups. We have to learn how
to finish around the basket. That will come the more we play,
but we have to find a way to score.”
Brett Hespell — Lockport boys basketball coach, after his team’s defeat to
the Celtics in the opener
Tune In
Boys Basketball
Wrangling with Warriors — 6:30 p.m. Friday,
Dec. 1, at Lincoln-Way West
• The Lockport boys basketball team travels
to New Lenox for its first true road game of
the season.
Index
42 - This Week In
42 - Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Contributing Editor
Thomas Czaja, tom@homerhorizon.com.