Girls basketball: Maddie Yacobozzi helps lead Lincoln-Way East past Romeoville

ORLAND PARK – When Lincoln-Way East takes the court, much of the attention from the other team goes to 6-foot-6 University of Illinois-bound Hayven Smith.

Such was the case Thursday in the semifinals of the Sandburg Holiday Classic when the Griffins took on Romeoville.

Smith still was able to deliver a big game, with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but it was fellow senior Maddie Yacobozzi who took the most advantage of the Spartans trying to shut down Smith. Yacobozzi also scored 17 points and helped lead East to a 53-41 win and advance to Friday’s title game against the host school.

“We work well as a team,” Yacobozzi said. “Hayven is such a big threat. When the other team puts two or three girls on her, it leaves the rest of us open. We kind of take our shots when we get them, and when we can get it inside to Hayven, things work out well.

“We know that Romeoville is a good team. We played them in the first game of the year, and we struggled more against them then than we did tonight. It’s good for us to play good teams like that because it prepares us for the good teams we see in our conference.”

Romeoville began the game in a 2-3 zone and tried to always have two players guarding Smith on the block. The plan worked for the first half of the first quarter, as the Spartans held an 8-7 lead after a 3-pointer, then a steal and layup by Emily Gabrelcik (8 points).

The game turned the Griffins’ way quickly, however. Smith was fouled while attempting a shot, and then a technical foul was called on Romeoville. Smith made three of the four free throws, then added a putback basket on the resulting possession for five straight points and a 12-8 lead that her team never relinquished.

“This was a pretty solid all-around game for us, but we did have quite a few turnovers,” East coach Jim Nair said. “We’ve strung together some pretty good games. Today, I think fatigue may have entered into it a little bit. That, and Romeoville is super quick and can pick off passes if they aren’t as crisp as they should be.

“They didn’t really have an answer for Hayven underneath, and Maddie did a great job of hitting open shots and taking the ball to the basket.”

East (15-3) took a 19-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Six points from Yacobozzi, five from Lana Kerley (9 points, 9 rebounds) and a putback by Smith, along with stingy defense, helped the Griffins move out to a 32-18 halftime lead.

Yacobozzi sandwiched a pair of baskets around one by teammate Lily Dockmeyer (10 points) to stretch the advantage to 38-18 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Gabrelcik started an 11-2 run by the Spartans (15-3) to close the quarter, and it was 40-29 entering the fourth.

Romeoville got a 3-pointer by Laila Houseworth (team-high 16 points) to open the fourth and cut the score to 40-32. But the Spartans got no closer as Yacobozzi answered with a 3-pointer of her own, and the Griffins maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

“We played well as a team today,” Nair said. “It kind of seemed like Lana Kerley was quiet, but she ended with nine points and nine rebounds. She’s just so steady like that game in and game out.

“Romeoville is a very good team, and they are going to be a tough out for anyone who plays them in the postseason. We have a lot of respect for what they are doing there.”