MM_021518

mokenamessenger.com sports
the Mokena Messenger | February 15, 2018 | 35
Athlete of the week
10 Questions
with Allie Reis
Allie Reis is a sophomore
at Lincoln-Way East on the
girls Lincoln-Way co-op
gymnastics team.
How’d you get started
in gymnastics?
My mom signed me up for
the Mommy and Me classes
when I was, like, 1 year old.
It’s pretty much been my
whole life.
What’s your favorite
event?
Floor, for sure. I just love
tumbling. It’s always been
my favorite event. It’s something
where you can express
yourself.
If you won the lottery,
what would be the first
thing you would buy?
Definitely plane tickets for
around the world. I love traveling.
[First i’d go to] Bora
Bora. It’s on my bucket list.
Who or what is your
inspiration?
Pretty much all the Olympians
because they dedicate
their whole life to gymnastics
and I admire that so
much. And they put in so
much effort, and I love how
it pays off for them.
What’s your favorite
part about gymnastics?
Definitely, for high school,
it’s just being part of a team
and everyone’s so supportive.
And it’s so much fun to
support my teammates and
it’s great to see it all pay off
for all of us, especially when
we win a meet.
What’s the most
challenging part of
gymnastics?
I would have to say when
you see one of your teammates
mess up, or you mess
up yourself, because you
see them work everyday.
Obviously, everyone works
so hard, and it’s just really
hard to see someone disappointed.
If you could own any
exotic pet, what would
it be?
I would say a monkey,
because I love monkeys and
over the summer I went to
Europe and saw a lot of live
monkey in Great Britain. I
just really love them. [I’d
probably name the monkey]
George, of the show, “Curious
George.”
Do you have any plans
for college?
22nd century media file photo
I do not. I know I want
to do something pre-med,
probably something in the
medical field, but I’m not
sure about a college yet. I’ll
probably go looking this
summer.
If you could add a new
event in gymnastics,
what would it be?
I would probably want to
add the rings, like the guys
gymnastics, for the girls because
they look really fun.
What’s one life lesson
you’ve learned from
gymnastics?
I think the No. 1 thing that
I’ve learned is to not let anything
bring you down. You
need to learn resilience in
life because, obviously, the
world will keep moving on
and you just need to bounce
back.
Interview conducted by Editor
T.J. Kremer III
basketball
From Page 36
63-57 on Nov. 21 in the title
game of the Lincoln-Way
Central/West Thanksgiving
Tournament at Central.
But in the SWSC Red game
Jan. 16 at Central, the Warriors
turned the tables and
emerged with a 58-37 victory.
When the Knights won
the game back in November,
they went on an 18-0 blitz
to start the scoring. Against
West, Reagan LoConte hit
back-to-back 3-pointers to
open the game for Central
and it looked like a repeat
feat of a large game-opening
run was possible. But
the six points would be all
the sophomore guard would
score in the contest.
West quickly scored six
straight to tie the game
at 6-6. A couple of baskets
by junior forward Abi
Baumgartner (13 points, 7
rebounds) put the Knights
back ahead 10-6. West answered
with seven straight
points, but Central scored
the last three points of the
quarter, including a layup
by senior forward Natalie
Spudic (6 points, 6 rebounds)
right before the
buzzer to knot the game at
13-13 after one quarter.
“When they made those,
we knew we had to pick it
up,” Tara Gugliuzza said of
the Knights hitting the early
3-pointers. “We picked it
up, made more shots and
worked on defense. We
knew if we hit our shots that
we’d be OK.”
Sure enough Tara Gugliuzza
scored eight points,
including hitting a pair
of 3-pointers, as the Warriors
went on a 14-2 burst
to open the second quarter.
Tara Gugliuzza, who had 11
points at halftime, capped
the burst on a 3-pointer for
a 27-15 lead with 2:39 left
in the first half. Sophomore
guard Sydney Swanberg
swooshed a 3-pointer at the
buzzer to give West a 34-
20 lead at halftime. Taylor
Gugliuzza had seven points
in the first quarter and had
12 at halftime.
Baumgartner scored four
points to open the third
quarter and cut the lead to
10. That gave the Knights a
glimmer of hope, but it was
soon closed as West connected
on 5-of-10 3-pointers
in the game in the final
five minutes of the quarter.
Hastings, who had 12 second
half points, popped in a
pair of treys and had eight
points in the third quarter.
The Warriors led 51-34
after three, and if there was
any doubt at that point, it
was soon gone as they embarked
on a 10-0 run to open
the fourth quarter. Swanberg
(6 points) and senior
guard Rachel Chavez (5
points) each added 3-pointers
in that spurt.
“As the season went on
I’ve seen us step up and hit
shots,” White said. “Plus
we’ve become more active
and are moving our feet on
defense. The crowd here was
awesome. Central did a good
job guarding us to start,
but then, all of the sudden,
things opened up for us.”
Junior guard Corryn Mejdrich
also added six points
for Central. The Knights
have been hampered in the
second half of the season as
senior post player Lauren
Kraft, who had 20 points
and 16 rebounds when Central
defeated the Warriors,
tore her ACL in the Medieval
Classic Christmas
Tournament and was lost
for the rest of the season.
“With West it’s pick your
poison,” Campanile said.
“Do you try to take away
their dribble penetration, or
do you help too much and
give them the open looks?
They hit 10 threes and we
didn’t pass the ball too well
(22 turnovers).”