In grade school, Caroline Smith played plenty of games in Lincoln-Way West’s field house.

Across the hall was the gym where the high school players shine, and she had a goal of one day making that her home. She also has early memories of spending time there attending camps.

“I would see the high school girls and say, ‘Wow, they are so old,’’’ Smith said of watching the Warriors. “I said, ‘I can’t wait to be there someday.’”

Those days have turned into years for the Lincoln-Way West senior, who has spent many waking hours playing in the main gym as a middle hitter in volleyball and a forward in basketball.

Smith, a Drake volleyball recruit, delivered one of her best basketball performances in that gym Thursday by scoring a career-high 25 points to go with 11 rebounds, three blocked shots, three assists and two steals in a 54-43 SouthWest Suburban Conference win over Lincoln-Way Central.

The 6-foot-1 Smith scored all of her points in the first three quarters, including 15 in the first half, as the Warriors (11-1, 4-0) rallied from a 29-22 halftime deficit in a game that started at 4:30 p.m. to allow players to study for final exams.

Ava Tisch tallied nine points and Molly Finn chipped in with eight for Lincoln-Way West. Brooke Baechtold made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for the Knights (4-8, 0-6), while Aubrey Birmingham added 13.

The Warriors, who have won seven in a row after a 49-42 loss to Plainfield North on Nov. 23 in the WJOL Classic championship game, uncorked a 13-0 run to take a 46-37 lead after three quarters.

A big key? Smith scored five points in that stretch.

“She carried us,” Lincoln-Way West coach Ryan White said. “We have had six different players lead us in scoring this year, so you can’t key on just one player, but this was her game.

“And she did a great job.”

White remembered the days when his daughter, Peyton, played basketball with Smith and both attended camps at Lincoln-Way West.

“I’ve known the family for a long time,” White said. “As a player, I was projecting this for a long time. You could see back then that, athletically, she was different.”

Smith is a presence inside, but Finn likes that Smith can do damage from the outside, too.

“She’s super aggressive and always gets her rebounds,” Finn said. “She’s really good at driving, and she can hit her three occasionally.

“I feel like she plays with a lot of energy all the time and plays hard.”

As far as rebounding goes, Smith acknowledged that she tries to put herself in the right spot.

“I use my jumping ability from volleyball to help me rebound,” Smith said.

White also likes her quickness.

“I can’t remember her losing a jump ball,” White said of Smith. “She is quick off her feet, and while she has a nice vertical jump, it’s her quickness to get to the ball first for rebounding.

“Some of that had something to do with playing volleyball.”

Smith grew up with basketball being her first option, but when she started playing volleyball, the two sports were neck and neck until she put more of her efforts into volleyball in high school.

Even with her college destination in place, Smith didn’t plan on taking the winter off.

“Basketball has always been in my life,” she said. “But I grew to love volleyball. I still have a love for basketball. I like the fact that in basketball you can have big comeback, kind of like this game.

“You can’t stop being aggressive, otherwise the other team will catch up to you.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.