In the beginning of the season, Oak Lawn junior Shatha Abdeljaber was a role player who came off the bench.

Then she became a starter.

She was the star Monday night in a heart-stopping 51-50 South Suburban Conference crossover victory over host Oak Forest.

Emotional? Not really. Her smile, though, said it all.

“This was a big game, right?” Abdeljaber said. “It’s a big deal to be 13-0. It feels great.”

Abdeljaber ended up with 19 points for Oak Lawn (21-6, 13-0). Katelyn Dillon added 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Mia Kennelly and Teagan Krzystof each had six points.

Janae Kent led Oak Forest (16-9, 9-4) with 30 points and six rebounds. Olivia Baxa added 12 points, while Dej’a Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Spartans trailed by 18 points at halftime and looked lost. That’s when Abdeljaber took over the game.

The 5-foot-6 guard shot four 3-pointers in the second half and made them all. She finished 5-for-6.

As icing, her last basket came when she made a steal and went in for the layup.

“I knew all of the attention would be on Mia and Katelyn,” Abdeljaber said. “I guess that made it easier for me. I mean, half my shots were spot-up shots.”

Hitting 3-pointers still isn’t easy.

“Well ... I’m confident in myself to make those,” Abdeljaber said. “I work on them every day.”

Abdeljaber entered the game averaging 7.5 points with 44 3-pointers. Looking forward, Oak Lawn coach Mark Sevedge has himself a future senior leader.

“You know what, she is an outstanding shooter,” Sevedge said of Abdeljaber. “We’ve always known that, but we were bringing her along throughout the season, trying to get her a little tougher, a little more physical.

“Every point she got was huge tonight.”

The winning basket was scored by Kennelly on a driving layup with 34.6 seconds left. She had been quiet scoring-wise for most of the game, but she wasn’t exactly sitting back and watching.

“Coach told me before the game they were going to stick me,” Kennelly said. “My teammates were hitting. I knew when I drive they would cover on me. My thought was, ‘Be a team player and get the ball out to them.’

“My points didn’t matter. I was getting the ball to my teammates. And it came to the end result.”

Kennelly also made a huge play when she stole an inbounds pass by Oak Forest with 13.1 seconds left.

“Just doing the hard work,” Kennelly said. “That last play, being a senior in my last conference game, gave me a good feeling.”

Dillon also played a big role in the win, hitting for five 3-pointers and sweeping the boards after Oak Forest misses, especially in the second half.

Last season, Oak Lawn lost just one game in conference. It was at Oak Forest in the final game. This one will likely cost the Bengals a share of the SSC Blue title with T.F. South.

“Honestly, when we were down, I just felt something coming on,” Dillon said. “I knew it wasn’t the end. And I knew Oak Forest wanted our blood because this win depended on their side of the conference.

“Winning after what happened last season is such a good feeling. I’m just so glad we were able to fight back and win it.”

Kent and Baxa dominated against Oak Lawn in the first half, leading the Bengals to a 35-17 lead. The second half brought a much different story.

“They hit shots in the second half and we didn’t look to score,” Oak Forest coach Jeff Kelly said. “They did a really good job doubling on Janae and we couldn’t find other ways to score.

“Hats off to coach Sevedge over there going undefeated in conference. It’s a remarkable feat, especially with our conference being tough this season.”