H-F shakes off slow start to grab win against Griffins

FLOSSMOOR | Lincoln-Way East's girls basketball team might have decided not to take advantage of its size and usually strong inside game Thursday night, but opponent Homewood-Flossmoor had other ideas.

The Times' top-ranked team had a strong showing from center Amena Brent, who scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Her performance, coupled with guard Charnelle Reed's 14 points and four steals, led the Vikings to a 50-45 Southwest Suburban Blue Conference win at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.

The Vikings (17-6 overall, 8-2 SWS-Blue) win avenged a loss to the Griffins (18-3, 8-2) earlier in the season and leaves both team tied for second in league play behind defending state champion Bolingbrook.

"Our players believed in what we were trying to do, and they came back and battled after slow starts in each half," Vikings coach Dana Noble said. "We've been really wanting to get one of these types of big wins, and the girls did it. They played their butts off tonight."

The Vikings dug themselves out of an early 8-point deficit by the second quarter, which set up a hard-fought contest in which the lead change hands nine times.

Brent turned an inbound pass into a 3-point play with two minutes, 23 seconds left in the game to give the Vikings a 44-42 lead. Brent scored again in the lane over Griffin center Caitlin McMahon to put the Vikings ahead, 46-44, then stole a cross-court Griffin pass with 45 seconds left.

Reed was fouled on the subsequent play off Brent's steal, but missed the front end of a bonus free throw situation. Teammate Jaiveonna Norris tracked down the loose rebound and passed back to Reed, who was fouled again.

Reed hit both free throws this time, and would add another pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.

The Vikings overcame poor perimeter shooting Thursday with their strong showing on the boards. While the Vikings made only two 3-point shots Thursday, they did manage to out-rebound the Griffins, 31-20.

"When my teammates can't make shots from the 3-point line, I try to step up and hit the high percentage shots," said Brent of her performance.

The Griffins jumped to an 8-0 lead to start the game, with the Vikings going nearly five minutes before they put points on the board. An 11-2 run by the Vikings was closed out with a transition basket by Brent gave the home team its first lead of the game midway through the second quarter.

"We typically get off to slow starts," Noble said. "We are able to bounce back, however. We've got some pretty resilient players."

The Griffins were led by McMahon (14 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Taylor Johnson, who added 13 points in defeat.