Lincoln-Way West’s playoff run ends with sectional championship loss to Marist

MATTESON – Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 song “Don’t Smile” opens with the words, “Don’t smile because it happened, baby. Cry because it’s over.” Of course, this is a play on the saying, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

There were plenty of smiles and crying for the Lincoln-Way West girls basketball team Thursday night as their season came to an end. A 59-40 loss to Marist in the Class 4A Rich Township Sectional final to end the careers of two seniors and an impressive playoff run naturally provided the tears.

But considering the path the Warriors took to reach the sectional championship, the legacy those seniors left and the outlook for the future, it’s easy to see what the smiles were all about.

Lincoln-Way West entered the playoffs at 20-11, earning the No. 3 seed in the sectional. After easily dispatching Shepard, they were tasked with beating Lincoln-Way East for a third time this year in the regional championship. It was a difficult task, but the Warriors got it done.

In a sectional semifinal, they faced No. 2 seed Lockport, a team that beat them twice during the regular season. A last-second bucket by Molly Finn lifted the Warriors to victory.

The game against top-seeded Marist got away from the Warriors in the second quarter, but the resiliency West showed to get there in the first place deserves praise.

“[Marist] is the number one seed for a reason,” Lincoln-Way West coach Ryan White said. “They’ve had a great year, and the kids they had out there could all score the ball. It’s tough to match up when all five kids can score like that.”

While the game was tied with 30 seconds left in the first quarter, a buzzer-beating layup by Olivia Barsch gave Marist a 14-12 edge entering the second. Lincoln-Way West got as close as 16-15, but the Redhawks outscored them 18-5 the rest of the quarter to take a 34-20 edge into the locker room at halftime.

Marist’s 14 points off of 14 LW-W turnovers in the first half was the difference. Guards Ava Tish and Molly Finn scored the first 24 points for West as Marist forced the Warriors into settling for 3-point attempts. The Redhawks controlled the second half, leading by as many as 22.

Again, the resiliency of Lincoln-Way West can’t be understated. The Warriors managed to cut the lead to 14 after being down 48-26 entering the fourth, playing the game like it was their last.

It was for the season; and for Caroline Smith and Erin Quigley, it was their last ever. Smith finished her career with two sectional championship appearances and was viewed as a team leader on and off the court.

“I’ve played with Caroline for three years and she’s always been there for me,” a teary-eyed Finn said. “She’s always been a role model, and I’m definitely going to miss her. Her and Erin have always been such assets to the team.”

Smith will play Division I volleyball for Drake University next year, but will forever cherish her time on the hardwood.

“This has really been everything,” Smith said, tears flowing down her face. “I’m going to college for volleyball, so I really just [played this season] for the team and my coaches. I’ve always seen so much support for them and I’m just so grateful for this opportunity and everything this game has given me.”

Although Smith’s loss on the court and Quigley’s loss in the locker room will hurt, everyone else will be back for the Warriors. After Finn and Tish finished Thursday night with 18 and 12 points, respectively, that’s an exciting prospect. So while plenty of tears were shed, there will be far more smiles moving forward.

“Most of our starters are coming back,” Tish said. “Caroline is the only one that’s leaving, so our only problem is going to be finding a big to play. We’re a good shooting team, though, so I think we’ll be fine next year.”