Girls Basketball: Sophomore Nora Ezike’s huge night powers Lyons past York to repeat WSC Silver title

LA GRANGE – Sophomore Nora Ezike very nearly was part of last season’s memorable run by the Lyons Township girls basketball team.

After some early varsity action, the 6-foot-2 Ezike was kept on the sophomore level by Lyons coach Meghan Hutchens for more game experience.

“It really helped that I got a little time on varsity because I was getting used to it for this year,” Ezike said. “I worked a lot on the offseason getting better because I wanted to get a starting spot. I worked hard and was able to get it.”

The rapidly rising star helped the Lions to a second straight undefeated West Suburban Conference Silver championship Feb. 3. Ezike’s varsity single-game bests of 22 points and 17 rebounds helped Lyons beat second-place York 57-50 in La Grange.

Ezike had 10 points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter, when the Lions (25-4, 12-0 Silver) extended a 42-37 lead after three quarters to 56-44 with 1:19 left.

“I’m really excited that we won and didn’t have to share the title,” Ezike said. “It got a little close at times but it was good to keep staying strong and getting the points back to keep the lead.”

Lyons junior Elin O’Brien had 13 points behind 4-of-5 3-point shooting in the first quarter. Senior Ally Cesarini (11 points with three 3-pointers) and junior Kennedy Wanless (13 rebounds) added double-digit contributions. Senior Ella Ormsby had five assists.

York (21-6, 10-2) was led by senior Mariann Blass’ 18 points, four rebounds and three steals. Allison Sheehan (11 points), Stella Kohl (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Hannah Meyers (9 points, all in the second half) also had big contributions.

Lyons and York are the No. 2 seeds in their respective Class 4A sectionals (Proviso East and New Trier).

The Lions’ 28-4 Class 4A sectional finalists last season also went 12-0 in the Silver.

“Personally for me, a tie doesn’t feel like a win so it felt good to go 12-0,” Cesarini said. “Every time we got a bigger lead, they just kept coming back. They’re feisty like that. We knew it was going to be a good game and I’m glad we were able to pull through and win.”

York closed to within 46-42 on Kohl’s 3-pointer with 5:33 left and had another possession to get closer but committed a turnover. From there, Ezike made 6 of 8 free throws and fed Wanless for a baseline jumper. Ezike also helped Lyons dominate 40-26 in rebounds and lead 10-2 in putback points, eight by Ezike.

“She’s worked really hard and trained a lot over the summer. She’s going to be a lot of fun to watch over the next few years,” Hutchens said. “York is a phenomenal team. They shoot well. They attack the basket well. And then that zone is always aggressive. They’re great competitors but I thought our girls did the right things to get the win, which was take care of the ball when we needed and get the ball inside.”

The Lions’ eight 3-pointers started with 7-for-15 first-half shooting to build a 35-26 lead. Lyons outscored York 10-0 over the last two minutes of the first and second quarters. The Dukes began the second half with a Meyers 3-pointer and Blass jumper in the lane to close to 37-31.

In the game’s final 30 seconds, they outscored Lyons 6-1 after scoring only two points on free throws over the previous five minutes.

“Every time we got down a little bit, we’d make a run. And then we just couldn’t finish around the basket. We didn’t rebound very well,” York coach Brandon Collings said. “I’m proud of our girls. We fought back. We played hard. A couple of things didn’t go our way and then that’s maybe a different game. We’ve got the playoffs to show that hopefully.”