Girls Basketball: L-W North Defense Shuts Down Richards Attack

The Skinny: It took more than four and a half minutes for Lincoln-Way North to make its first basket in a 51-16 victory over Richards Tuesday in play at the Oak Lawn Holiday Tournament. Then, Taylor Boardman drained a 3-pointer and the Phoenix never looked back as their defense bottled up Richards. The Bulldogs remained without a basket until the final two minutes of the first quarter. Lincoln-Way North put together a 22-2 scoring run before the Richards went on a 6-0 spurt to close out the first half. Lincoln-Way North sealed the deal with a 22-3 flurry to close the second half.

Patch MVP: Ashley Weringa had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals for Lincoln-Way North.

Key Stats: The Phoenix made 17-of-50 shots, including 7-of-23 from the three-point arc. Lincoln-Way North's defense held the Bulldog to 7-of-43 shooting. The Phoenix finished with a 37-25 rebounding edge.

Lincoln-Way North Leaders: Aside from Weringa, Sam Pietruszynski had nine points, six rebounds and two steals. Taylor Boardman had six points, six rebounds, one steal and one block. Stephanie Pearson led the Phoenix reserves with eight points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Richards Leaders: Hannah Jenkins had five points, three rebounds and one steal. Four players had two points apiece. Allison Stazak was the game's leading rebounder with seven boards.

Quotable I: Lincoln-Way North coach Jim Nair: "Richards is a very good team, and Brianna LeBeau is super-tough. We just wanted to pressure the ball down low to make it difficult for her, and I think we did a really good job at doing that."

Quotable II: Richards coach Jeff Kortz: "We had a tough night shooting. I have to credit Lincoln-Way North. They do a great job at getting after you defensively. We couldn't get that one shot to fall to get us into a rythym. Lincoln-Way North didn't let us do the things we wanted to do."

Team Records: Lincoln-Way North improves to 9-2. Richards falls to 7-4.

What's Next: Both teams are in action Dec. 21. Lincoln-Way North will face Oak Lawn for the Oak Lawn Holiday Tournament championship at 6 p.m. Richards will take on Romeoville for third place at 4:30 p.m.