Lincoln-Way West edges out Lincoln-Way East to win regional championship

FRANKFORT – The girls basketball game between Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way West on Thursday night had all the drama one would expect in a regional championship.

The finale of the Class 4A Lincoln-Way East Regional had plenty of anxiety for coaches and players, no doubt, but a joy for fans.

A back-and-forth contest throughout, Lincoln-Way West managed to eke out the win thanks in large part to Molly Finn’s game-sealing layup in the final minute. The Warriors ended up edging the Griffins 48-42 to advance to a Richton Park Sectional semifinal.

The third-seeded Warriors (22-11) were led by Mackenzie Roesner’s 12 points, but it was the definition of a team effort. Finn and Caroline Smith each contributed eight points, Reagan McCracken put up nine, and Ava Tisch added seven.

It was the third time this year that Lincoln-Way West and Lincoln-Way East faced off against each other, and it’s the third time that the Warriors have come away victorious. It’s hard to beat a team three times in the same year, something Warriors coach Ryan White noted after the game. It’s even harder when the third game is a regional final.

Although it certainly wasn’t easy, the Warriors got it done.

“It was very back and forth,” White said. “The kids have played travel ball and junior high together, so everyone is very familiar with each other. You get those kind of games when that happens.”

The game started as a 3-point contest, with six from beyond the arc in the opening period, including four by the Warriors. The red-hot shooting had Lincoln-Way West up 13-5 before the Griffins cut it to 16-12 by the end of the period thanks to a pair of 3s of their own.

In the second quarter, the style of the game flipped. It was a defensive battle, with a three-minute stretch in which neither team scored. The scoring picked up in the final minutes as a 3-pointer by McCracken extended the Warrior lead to 27-18 with 2:25 to go. A layup by Kennedy Johnson and a 3 by Mia Limpin trimmed the Griffins' deficit to 28-23 at the midway point.

Lincoln-Way East cut it to 30-27 early in the third quarter before a 3 by Smith pushed the edge back to six at three minutes in. The Griffins got back within 33-31 three minutes later on a Madison Zaremba jumper, and a 3-pointer from Limpin with 1:34 to go gave Lincoln-Way East its first lead of the contest at 34-33.

A steal and score by Finn returned the lead to Lincoln-Way West with six seconds to go in the period. The Warriors carried a 35-34 advantage into the final quarter.

The final period was as wild as it could get. There were eight ties or lead changes before Finn’s layup gave the Warriors a four-point lead with 40 seconds left, all but sealing the game.

“I think we just needed to calm down a little bit,” Finn said. “We were a little frantic because we fell behind at one point. After we got back under control and had a pace going, we were very excited to have the lead and wanted to keep it, so that pushed us.”

Sixth-seeded Lincoln-Way East (20-13) was led by Alaina Vargas with 16 points and Limpin with 13.

“We’re proud of our girls,” Griffins coach Jim Nair said. “West came out and hit some big 3s to get going. We knew our girls weren’t going to crumble. They were going to fight back, and they did a great job. We just had a few too many costly turnovers in the end.”

Lincoln-Way West will face off against second-seeded Lockport at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rich Township.