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NEW LENOX — A word to the wise for any girls basketball team facing Lincoln-Way West: Defend Ava Tisch whenever she gets past halfcourt.
Saturday afternoon’s matinee against nonconference Downers Grove North was a tight affair for the Warriors the whole way. That is, until Tisch made a big shot from a big distance in the 37-33 victory.
“I shoot when I am open,” Tisch said. “Sometimes, I think the farther away I am, the better I shoot. The coaches tell me to shoot if I am open, so that’s what I did.”
The Trojans (19-9) rallied from a 28-24 deficit to start the fourth quarter, scoring five straight points on a 3-pointer by freshman Caitlin Sandridge and a basket by Adyson Fanta to take a 29-28 lead. The Warriors (20-9) countered with back-to-back baskets by Mackenzie Roesner and Molly Finn to move out to a 32-29 lead.
Then, it was Tisch’s turn.
The Warriors moved the ball around the perimeter, and eventually Tisch found herself with the ball at the volleyball 10-foot line, roughly 32 feet from the basket. No one was defending her, so she launched a shot. It arched through the air and came down straight through the hoop, giving Lincoln-Way West a 35-29 lead and pushing them to the win.
It was a good ending to an otherwise rough week for West, which lost Southwest Suburban Conference games to Lockport in overtime on Tuesday and to Sandburg on Thursday.
“We didn’t like being behind,” Tisch said. “It feels like we haven’t been behind much all year, but we had a tough week this week. To get a win today against a good team should get us back on track.”
Roesner (nine points) made a pair of free throws to put West ahead 37-29 with 2:53 left. They didn’t score again, but their defensive effort was enough to secure the win despite late baskets by North’s Sandridge (10 points) and Fanta (nine points).
“Downers North is a good, physical team,” West coach Ryan White said. “The way they play, very deliberate on offense and physical on defense, getting behind them by five is like being behind by 10 against other teams. We were able to avoid that.
“Ava hit that big shot, and she feels comfortable shooting from that distance. We’re comfortable with it, too, as long as she is in rhythm and has her legs under her, which she did on that shot.”
Some hot 3-point shooting kept the Warriors from being behind long. In the first quarter, Downers North went ahead 9-8 on a basket by Urja Shah, but West answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Molly Finn (game-high 11 points) and Roesner.
West built their biggest lead, 22-13, in the second quarter, but North fought back with six straight points as Fanta sandwiched a pair of baskets around one by Campbell Thulin (eight points) to cut the gap to 22-19 at halftime.
A 3-pointer by Thulin early in the third quarter gave North a 24-22 lead, but Roesner answered with a putback basket before a free throw by Raegan McCracken and a 3-pointer by Finn ended the quarter, putting West ahead 28-24 entering the fourth.
“We knew we had to be aware of [Thulin],” White said. “And we were. She is a good player. I think our zone bothered them a little bit.
“Today, we really wanted to do the little things like diving for loose balls, playing good defense and getting rebounds. I thought we rebounded well and we shared the ball well. We’ve had some games this year where Caroline [Smith] or Molly [Finn] have had big scoring nights, but I think we are at our best when we are more balanced like we were today. When everyone is involved, the other team doesn’t know where the shots are coming from.”