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homerhorizon.com sports<br />
the Homer Horizon | December 13, 2018 | 37<br />
Girls Basketball<br />
Porters unable to survive barrage of Warriors 3-pointers<br />
Lockport looks<br />
to play more<br />
consistently on both<br />
ends of the floor<br />
Randy Whalen<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
In terms of the point total,<br />
the Lincoln-Way West girls<br />
basketball team’s output<br />
last week against Lockport<br />
Township was fairly low by<br />
its standards.<br />
But the Warriors still hit<br />
13 3-point shots, with senior<br />
guard Tara Hastings hitting<br />
seven of them in scoring a<br />
game-high 21 points.<br />
That shows how explosive<br />
they can be, as they<br />
jumped out to a comfortable<br />
early lead and cruised<br />
to a 53-40 victory over the<br />
Porters Dec. 4 in a South-<br />
West Suburban Conference<br />
crossover at Lockport.<br />
Fresh off a 17-point, 11<br />
rebound performance in the<br />
Porters previous game — a<br />
52-41 loss to Minooka on<br />
Dec. 1 — sophomore guard/<br />
forward Elena Knebel added<br />
six points against West.<br />
A year ago when the two<br />
teams met, it was a downto-the-wire<br />
affair, with the<br />
Warriors pulling out a 65-<br />
62 win.<br />
“I was watching that tape<br />
from last year, and it was a<br />
very entertaining game for<br />
the spectators,” Lockport<br />
coach Dan Kelly said. “This<br />
year, not so much. We have<br />
to get better at our offensive<br />
skills. We were just a bit off.<br />
We also struggled on the defensive<br />
end. Our girls don’t<br />
ever quit, we will play to<br />
the end. We just have to be<br />
more consistent.”<br />
It was the second lowest<br />
point output on the season<br />
for West (7-1), which has<br />
scored at least 61 points in<br />
five of its games. The Porters<br />
(4-5) received a strong<br />
game from junior center<br />
Jenna Cotter (13 points, 9<br />
rebounds) but had no answer<br />
for the Warriors barrage<br />
from downtown.<br />
“Taylor did a good job of<br />
getting me the ball,” Hastings<br />
said of sophomore<br />
guard Taylor Gugliuzza. “I<br />
felt good in warmups, and I<br />
hoped that transitioned into<br />
the game. We just have to<br />
limit the turnovers, and we’ll<br />
start getting back as a team<br />
and get into a groove. I think<br />
that we’ll do pretty good<br />
once we clean it all up.”<br />
Hastings, a four-year varsity<br />
player, wasn’t sure if her<br />
seven treys were the most<br />
she’s made in a game. Her<br />
opening 3-pointer gave West<br />
a 5-0 lead with 6:40 to play<br />
in the first quarter. A minute<br />
later, senior guard Jackie<br />
Maka scored for the Porters.<br />
But Gugliuzza (16 points),<br />
who had four 3-pointers,<br />
made a pair of them in an<br />
11-0 run that put the Warriors<br />
ahead 16-2 with 3:15<br />
left in the first quarter.<br />
“It just makes it so much<br />
easier when everything is<br />
flowing, and when we have<br />
more energy than our opponent,”<br />
Gugliuzza said.<br />
“It also helps that [junior<br />
forward] Molly [Ryan] and<br />
[freshman forward] Evan<br />
[Pittman], our two tall girls,<br />
did a good job of hustling<br />
and really boxing out.”<br />
Lockport hit its only two<br />
3-pointers of the game, as<br />
junior guard Abby Pappagoerge<br />
and senior guard Kaeli<br />
Ford (7 points) connected<br />
on back-to-back ones to<br />
close the score to 16-8 with<br />
just under two minutes left<br />
in the first quarter. The Warriors<br />
led 20-8 after the first<br />
period. A basket by Cotter<br />
after a rebound closed the<br />
Porters to within 20-12 with<br />
5:11 to play in the first half,<br />
but that was as close as they<br />
Lockport’s Elizabeth Sochacki (left) plays through contact Dec. 4 during the Porters’ loss to Lincoln-Way West in<br />
Lockport. Photos by Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media<br />
Lockport defenders (left to right) Payton Grcevic, Sydney Furr and Miranda Oesterreich<br />
attempt to corral a Warrior ball-handler.<br />
would get.<br />
Gugliuzza (9 points) and<br />
junior guard Sydney Swanberg<br />
(3 points, 8 rebounds)<br />
also hit 3-pointers for West.<br />
The Warriors did have 19<br />
turnovers, 11 of them in the<br />
first half, which was concerning<br />
to veteran coach<br />
Ryan White.<br />
“It felt like we shot the<br />
ball fairly decent,” White<br />
said. “But for me, there<br />
were still many turnovers<br />
for us, and that’s taking opportunities<br />
away. When we<br />
shoot the ball like we can<br />
and don’t get a shot at the<br />
basket, it’s costing us a lot<br />
of points.”<br />
The Porters concluded<br />
last week with a game on<br />
Saturday, Dec. 8, as they<br />
opened play in the Oak<br />
Lawn Spartan Holiday<br />
Tournament. That tournament<br />
continued this Monday,<br />
Dec. 10, Wednesday,<br />
Dec. 12, and is to conclude<br />
on Saturday, Dec. 15. They<br />
also have an SWSC Blue<br />
game at 6:30 p.m. on Friday,<br />
Dec. 14, at Bolingbrook.<br />
Lockport hosts Joliet<br />
West at 1:30 p.m. on Dec.<br />
21 at its East Campus.
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