Girls basketball: DeKalb can’t overcome late turnovers in loss to Oswego

DeKALB – Oswego’s 12-point lead disappeared, and the Panthers were trailing in the final three minutes against DeKalb on Monday.

But they kept their composure and switched to a press to disrupt the DeKalb offense, retaking the lead with a pair of free throws by Peyton Johnson with 24.5 seconds left for a 31-30 win.

“Our mindset was to win,” said Oswego’s Denaja Gaston, who led everybody with 12 points. “So we made sure that we worked hard and played smart.”

The Barbs (15-14) still had a chance to win. Alicia Johnson, who made a three-point play with 2:26 left to give DeKalb the lead, missed a shot with seven seconds remaining. The Barbs got a pair of rebounds in traffic under the bucket, but neither shot fell, and Ahlivia East secured the rebound for Oswego at the buzzer to end it.

Oswego coach Dave Lay said it was good to see his team battle back after losing a large lead earlier in the game, something that has plagued the Panthers (8-22) throughout the season.

“I just think they wanted it really bad,” Lay said. “We’ve lost some leads, and I told them after the game I’m really proud of them, because it shows our emotional growth as much anything. We’ve had leads as much as 14 we’ve lost, and I was worried when DeKalb took the lead late that we would be like, ‘Oh God, here we go again.’

“But we’ve shown a lot of poise and confidence lately that we’re not going to panic in those situations.”

DeKalb took its first lead of the second half when Kiki Mitchell connected on a layup with 6:21 left in the game, capping an 11-0 DeKalb run to put the Barbs up 25-24.

After Oswego scored the next four, Ella Russell hit a layup, and then Johnson drove inside and got the bucket and the foul as DeKalb reclaimed the lead 30-28 with 2:26 left. But the Panthers switched to a press, and DeKalb wouldn’t score again.

“They went to a man press, and we really just didn’t get set up for it,” DeKalb coach Brad Bjelk said. “We were a little too stationary, not really cutting to the ball, making ourselves available. We inbounded the ball a couple times and got it to where we needed to be. Then we’d just turn the ball over unnecessarily.

“I really don’t think it was the pressure. It was really more the decision-making that led to the turnovers.”

The Barbs also struggled with turnovers in the first half, though most of those were unforced travel calls against the Oswego zone. DeKalb finished with 23 turnovers in the game, while Oswego had 21.

The game was tied at 9 after Mitchell, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Barbs, connected on a free throw early in the second quarter. But the Barbs’ offense started to struggle, and the Panthers scored 10 straight.

Oswego ended the quarter with a 22-10 lead, holding the Barbs without a field goal in the second quarter and not even allowing them a shot from the floor for the first 6:08 of the quarter.

“We knew they were going to be a tough team to beat,” Gaston said. “They’re aggressive, so we made sure we came with the same amount of energy they had.”

DeKalb scored 15 of the first 19 points of the second half and did have that late lead. There was about a two-minute stretch between Johnson’s bucket and a free throw by Oswego’s Maggie Voller in which neither team managed a shot as both teams turned it over.

“We’re feeling good, obviously wanted to keep the lead and keep the ball,” said Johnson, who had eight points, five rebounds and two steals despite missing most of the first half with foul trouble. “We needed to keep the ball, not try to rush anything.”

The Panthers close the regular season Wednesday at Minooka, looking to avenge a 56-47 loss from early December.