MM_112918

mokenamessenger.com sports
the Mokena Messenger | November 29, 2018 | 47
fastbreak
Girls Basketball
Buzzer-beater bank shot beats Knights
Julie McMann/22nd Century
Media
1st-and-3
Familiar faces, new
places
1. Knights wrestling
(Above) Lincoln-Way
Central has a new
head coach this year.
Tyrone Byrd comes
over after spending
the last 10 years
as the head coach
at rival Lincoln-Way
East.
2. Griffins wrestling
Byrd’s departure
opened the door
for its own new
head coach, Kevin
Rockett. Although
new at Lincoln-Way
East, Rockett spent
four years as the
head coach of the
wrestling program at
Lincoln-Way North.
3. Stock on the rise
Byrd said he’s
impressed with the
potential of Jackson
Hosman (162 lbs.)
and Mason Sargent;
while Rockett is looking
at Noah Alsgusson
(160 lbs.) and
Jake LaMonto (220
lbs.)
Baumgartner,
LoConte receive All-
Tournament honors
Sean Hastings
Freelance Reporter
Joliet Central’s buzzer
beating bank shot to win
the Thanksgiving Tournament
on Nov. 21 is not going
to dictate the rest of the
Lincoln-Way Central girls
basketball team’s season.
The teams traded baskets
and neither team was able to
pull away, and it came down
to the final shot. The Steelmen
called a timeout with 12
seconds left to draw up the
game-winning play.
Whether or not that was
the play they drew up, it
was good enough to win the
game and the tournament
47-45.
This was the Knights’ first
loss of the season, but coach
Dave Campanile was happy
with how the girls played
throughout the tournament.
“This was just one game,”
he said. “I was very proud of
how we played and how we
carried ourselves. We’re 4-1
to start our year (as of Nov.
20). I told our girls, ‘If we’re
going to lose our championship
on a buzzer beater bank
in from a person who hasn’t
made one all day, I’ll take
that.’”
Just less than two weeks
ago, the Knights squeaked
“I told our girls, ‘If we’re going to lose our
championship on a buzzer beater bank in from a
person who hasn’t made one all day, I’ll take that.’”
Dave Campanile — Lincoln-Way Central girls basketball coach
past the Steelmen by
one point in the season
opener.
That game was just like
this one: teams playing
good defense and forcing
tough shots. And when
points were scored, they
were hard fought and down
low.
“It was tough to get on
big runs,” Campanile said.
“Either team traded blows
and went punch for punch
and they were able to match
when we tried to extend.
Their pressure came out on
top in the end.”
The Steelmen forced the
Knights into 13 turnovers
and did a good job in transition
going back the other
way to get key points at their
end of the floor.
But that was something
the Knights knew Joliet
Central was capable of, as
they saw the same thing
when they opened the season
against them.
“That was one of the
things we struggled with
when we beat them a couple
weeks ago,” Campanile said.
“It was just a one-point win.
We knew their defensive
pressure is tough. We had to
make better decisions with
the ball. They do a great job
after turnovers in transition.”
Campanile said the
Knights played better zone
defense in the second half,
but the wrong players ended
up getting the shots off.
“The wrong people scored
and the last possession was
indicative of that,” Campanile
said. “The wrong person
took the shot and we
did great on the last possession,
but it doesn’t fall for us
sometimes.”
For the Knights, when
they needed someone to pull
through and take control,
Abi Baumgartner was able
to.
She scored 19 points after
a slow start to the game.
The beginning of the game
for the Knights, everyone
was playing quick and the
ball was never fully secured,
but Central was able to settle
down in the second quarter,
especially Baumgartner, and
piece together good possessions.
Baumgartner scored just
two points in the first quarter,
but as Campanile put it,
she “played like a senior and
a captain.”
“I think she responded in
difficult moments and that’s
what you want a senior to
do. I think she did a great job
leading the team just based
on her play,” he said. “She
kind of had a little bit of a
slow start in the first half,
then really made the decision
to she’s going to impact
the game.”
Her physical play was
noticeable in the second
quarter and on. She brought
down 12 rebounds and had a
block.
“When she makes those
decisions both on the defense
and the offensive end,
she finds ways to impact the
game and she did,” Campanile
said. “She ended with
19 and made some big free
throws down the stretch.”
Campanile said the
Knights made a few adjustments
to try and get her into
position to make plays and
score rather than having her
move around a lot, but it
was mostly her mentally responding.
I think she just did a great
job responding herself,” he
said. “She decided to give
more effort, she decided
to bang in there a little bit
more, she decided to get
loose balls. When she turns
things on, she’s quite a physical
force to deal with when
she does that. I give a lot of
credit to he to say ‘I’m a senior,
I’m a leader and I’m a
captain and captains are supposed
to respond’ and she
responded great.”
Baumgartner made a free
throw that tied the game at
45 with one minute left in
the game.
Baumgartner, along with
Regan LoConte received
All-Tournament honors.
LoConte scored seven
points for the Knights and
was the second leading scorer
for the team.
As demoralizing as a
buzzer beater to lose a championship
could be, Campanile
was happy after the game
and told his team that a win
does not mean that they are
a great team and a loss does
not mean they are a bad
team.
How the result turned out
tonight isn’t going to make
or break the season,” he
said. “Down the stretch, the
lessons we can learn here are
going to pay off more than a
win and a turkey at the end
of the day.”
What Campanile is concerned
about is where the
team is at in February when
they are gearing up for regionals.
Listen Up
“I’m disappointed that we fell short, but I’m
excited for the potential for all the guys as a team
and as individuals.”
Tyrone Byrd – Lincoln-Way Central wrestling coach
TUNE IN
Lincoln-way central boys basketball
6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5
• The Knights make their home debut of the
season against Southland College Prep.
Index
41 – Athlete of the Week
41 – This Week In...
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor T.J. Kremer III, tj@
mokenamessenger.com.