Nora Ezike, Emma O’Brien combination helps Lyons make early ‘statement’ by beating Benet

LA GRANGE – Nora Ezike has a skill set quite unique for a 6-foot-2 high school senior.

The best part for Lyons Township?

The Lions are fortunate enough to have another like Ezike in 6-foot-1 junior Emma O’Brien, a Division I post prospect with guard-like skills.

“It’s special,” Lyons coach Meghan Hutchens said. “When they are on it’s hard to defend them. Once we’re going downhill in transition and it’s clicking for us, it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

Ezike and O’Brien were simply unstoppable Tuesday.

They each scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, overpowering a smaller Benet team as Lyons pulled away late for a 77-67 win in the season opener for both teams.

Ezike, a Stanford recruit, and O’Brien combined for 21 of the Lions’ 27 points in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded the lead five times over the first three minutes of the third quarter after Benet led 31-30 at halftime, but Lyons took a 50-44 lead after three quarters and Benet never pulled closer than four.

Between Ezike’s hard drives to the basket and O’Brien’s sweet shooting and skills around the rim, Lyons at times scored at will in a back-and-forth game.

“It’s so nice to have Emma. She’s such a great player and a great shooter,” Ezike said. “She can really do everything on the court. No team can stop us all.”

Junior Gwen Smith, a 5-foot-11 post, added 13 for Lyons, 12 coming in the middle two quarters.

Emma Briggs scored 17 points, Aria Mazza 16 and Lindsay Harzich 14 for Benet.

Lyons won 20 games and a regional title last season, but Hutchens readily admitted Tuesday that “we underachieved a little bit, and they know that.”

The Lions came into this season ready to work and realize the vast potential on this roster. Beating Benet, which Lyons usually plays in the fifth or sixth game of the season, on opening night was an early statement.

“What it does is it sets the tone for us,” Hutchens said. “That was our message today, was that we wanted to set the tone for the season. We thought it would be a good opportunity if we want this to be a special year for us to show everyone what we are capable of right away.”

Ezike did right off the jump, driving hard to the basket repeatedly to score 11 of her 27 in the first quarter of a game played at a blistering pace throughout.

O’Brien got going after that, scoring 25 of her 27 points over the final three quarters. She hit 4-of-5 3-point attempts, her second giving Lyons the lead for good at 39-38 with 4:58 left in the third quarter. Later she buried one from well beyond the arc at the top of the key for a 55-46 lead.

“We were a little nervous about playing Benet our first game because they are so good, but we also knew that if we beat them it would be such a momentum boost,” said O’Brien, who holds offers from Harvard, Loyola and Eastern Illinois. “We embraced it.”

O’Brien certainly embraces playing alongside another skilled post.

On one play in the first half, O’Brien hit a hard-cutting Ezike with a nifty pass from the high post for a layup. Ezike returned the favor later, driving and kicking to O’Brien for a corner 3.

“It’s our third year together, and she is such an easy person to play with,” O’Brien said. “It’s so fun to play with her and we see each other so well.”

Benet, with four starters back from a sectional finalist, struggled with foul trouble early, and struggled shooting throughout, finishing 7-for-29 from the 3-point line.

But the Redwings pressured Lyons into 17 first-half turnovers to lead 31-30 at half, and took their final lead at 38-36 with 5:03 left in the third quarter on a Mazza 3-pointer.

“We shot the ball very poorly early on and we got into foul trouble. We just seemed a little out of sorts,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “They’re a good team. Emma shot the ball really well and Nora was very effective going to the rim. We want to shoot 3s, you just have to make some. We’ll be fine.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2024/11/20/nora-ezike-emma-obrien-combination-helps-lyons-make-early-statement-by-beating-benet/