Girls basketball
There’s one big reason Lincoln-Way Central junior Regan LoConte isn’t afraid of shooting 3-pointers, even when they aren’t falling.
In a word, it’s faith.
“I believe that my teammates will get the rebound and finish strong,” she said.
The junior guard used her faith to put up — and nail — the biggest shot of the night Friday, sending the host Knights on their way to a 40-32 victory over Andrew in the Lincoln-Way Central Thanksgiving Tournament.
LoConte scored 15 points for Lincoln-Way Central (2-0). Abi Baumgartner added 12 points and five rebounds, while Megan Hutchinson had seven points.
Isis Fitch had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Andrew (1-1). Courtney Maloney had 12 points.
LoConte’s 3-pointer came with 3:30 remaining and put the Knights in front 33-32. It gave them their first lead of the game.
It capped a rally from a deficit as large as 13 points late in the third quarter. LoConte added five more free throws to finish the fourth quarter with eight points.
Baumgartner also had eight points in the fourth quarter, when the Knights outscored Andrew 18-2.
“When Regan hits threes, it just gets us going,” Baumgartner said. “Once we get our momentum, we just keep going. We run off of momentum.”
It was a spark that Lincoln-Way Central coach Dave Campanile is expecting from LoConte over the next two seasons.
“She really came up big in the clutch,” Campanile said. “We had our best athletes on the court and we knew they would eventually hit their stride. I knew that Regan would find her stroke by the second half, for sure.”
If LoConte finished the rally, Baumgartner started it.
Down 30-22 going into the fourth quarter, the Knights were sparked by Baumgartner starting the attack both on defense and with drives to the basket. The senior forward scored the Knights’ first eight points and had two steals.
Baumgartner’s only bit of frustration came from spending more time than she wanted off the court with three fouls.
“When I was out I was sitting on the bench thinking, ‘When I go in, what do I have to do to get this going?’ ” Baumgartner said. “When I went out there, I just played my hardest and I didn’t really think about what I was doing.
“I just played. That’s when I do my best because I can get into my own head a lot.”
Andrew parlayed a strong inside-outside game into some early dominance.
The inside game came from Fitch. The 6-foot-1 junior worked hard underneath for five layups. Three of them came on putbacks.
The outside game came from Maloney. The junior guard connected on four 3-pointers, including three in the third quarter that helped the Thunderbolts extend their lead to double digits.
Lincoln-Way Central’s pushback in the fourth shut that down.
“They caused some issues with us handling the basketball late,” Andrew coach Bobby Matz said. “And we didn’t finish well on some looks inside.
“With some inexperienced players in some spots, you could see as crunch time started to set in, the rim got a little smaller and the ball felt more slippery. And they (Central) won it.”
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