Nora Ezike scores school-record 40 points as Lyons tops Prospect in Montini quarters

LOMBARD – Lyons Township star Nora Ezike spent the evening of Christmas Day huddled with her parents.

“I was watching film with my parents,” Ezike said. “My mom was going to be out of town, so she just wanted to give me some tips and make sure I played well while she was not here.

“So I was trying to consider what they were saying. They were saying to make sure I was engaged in the play and going to the basket.”

The Stanford-bound Ezike heeded the advice on Thursday and now her mom will have to watch the greatest performance of her daughter’s career on tape.

Ezike erupted for a career-high 40 points and added seven rebounds and two steals to lift the Lions to a 71-58 victory over Prospect in the Montini Christmas Tournament quarterfinals.

Ezike broke the school single-game scoring record of 39 points, which was set by Mallory Heydorn in 2005, making 15 of 18 shots and all 10 of her free throw attempts. Two of her missed shots were 3-pointers.

“I was impressed with how much she got to the basket today,” LT coach Meghan Hutchens said. “Scoring 40 points is not easy and going 10-for-10 from the line is not easy.

“We’ve had a few 30-point games from Nora and Emma [O’Brien] throughout the past two seasons, but that’s impressive. She’s explosive to the basket. She is really hard to stop and I think she proved a point there, especially in the fourth quarter.”

Prospect (10-3) gave the Lions (14-0) a strong challenge but couldn’t stop the 6-foot-2 Ezike from bulling her way to the basket. Sometimes she would score on layups in transition and off of press breaks, and sometimes she simply willed her way to the hoop, winning a 1-on-3 battle at one point.

“I feel like there’s a lot of times where I’m in the zone at certain points throughout the game, but I feel like this was the first game that I’ve been able to put it all together throughout the whole game,” Ezike said. “I really felt like I was doing everything well.”

And she did it from the get-go. After Alli Linke sank a 3-pointer to give Prospect a 3-0 lead, Ezike scored the first three baskets for Lyons, including back-to-back drives that put the Lions ahead to stay at 6-4.

The Knights managed to stay close for a while. They were within 26-22 late in the second quarter when Ezike made two free throws and juniors Gwen Smith and O’Brien scored baskets to start a 10-0 run.

Ezike and O’Brien combined to score all 18 of the Lions points in the third quarter as they built a 50-37 lead. Ezike followed by scoring 13 consecutive points for the Lions in the fourth quarter.

Prospect never got closer than 11 points despite great efforts from Linke, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and two assists, and Sadie Splinter, who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Smith and O’Brien each had 13 points for the Lions, with O’Brien adding six rebounds, five steals, two assists and two blocks.

“She’s a very talented player,” Prospect coach Matt Weber said of Ezike. “She’s a load to handle.

“I just wish I would have had more practice time to prepare for her but that’s the fun of a tournament. Great players are going to get their points and she had a great game tonight.”

How great?

“I’ve watched six games of her on film,” Weber said. “This was her best one.”

Ezike said she knew of Heydorn’s record and was aware the scoreboard was keeping track of every player’s points.

“It was really exciting,” Ezike said. “I was just making sure that I was staying locked in and not getting too caught up during the game on how many points I had.

“I didn’t realize I was that close until I actually got it. I was just making sure that we still won and I continued to play well, like how I’ve been doing.”

Taking down a school record that had stood for nearly 20 years is an impressive accomplishment, especially considering the strong opponent.

“I’m really excited to leave my mark on the school,” Ezike said. “I knew that coming into this year I did want to do something big like (breaking Hagedorn’s record).

“I made a vision board for goals for the season and that was on it. So I’m excited to have achieved the goal.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2024/12/27/nora-ezike-scores-school-record-40-points-as-lyons-tops-prospect-in-montini-quarters/