Girls Basketball: Rouse, Marist Put the Hurt on L-W East in Sectional Final

Marist 52, Lincoln-Way East 32: JeTaun Rouse scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter as the RedHawks won their first sectional title since 2008.

The Skinny: Marist’s JeTaun Rouse played with a sore knee. She delivered a performance that left Lincoln-Way East feeling the pain of what might have been in a 52-32 RedHawk victory in the championship game of the Class 4A Sandburg Sectional. Rouse scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter on Thursday night as the RedHawks won their first sectional title since 2008. She poured in seven straight points in a personal highlight reel-like surge that included a 3-pointer from just in front of the Marist student body and two straight steals that she turned into layups. The RedHawks used a 1-3-1 defense to prevent Lincoln-Way East from penetrating the lane and crashed the boards on offense to generate second-chance points. Patch’…

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Ron Kremer

1:58 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012

No question, Marist has a very athletic group. Is there a way to slow the RedHawks down? Or are they destined to play for the Class 4A state championship? What do you think?   more ›

3-2-1: McMahon Shot Helps L-W East Girls Basketball Team Blast Off

Meaghan McMahon's 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half provided a spark for Lincoln-Way East in its 54-41 sectional semifinal girls basketball victory over Homewood-Flossmoor.

Lincoln-Way East coach Jim Martin has a stopwatch-like name for the drill he likes to end girls basketball practice with on a regular basis. “It’s called a 3-2-1 drill,” he said. “I got it from (a coaching friend). It’s a fun way to end practice. You go, ‘Three, two, one and you throw it up from half-court or whatever, not so much with a girl on you throwing it that way.’ ” Not like Meaghan McMahon did to end the first half in Lincoln-Way East’s 54-41 victory over Homewood-Flossmoor in a Class 4A Sandburg Sectional semifinal matchup on Tuesday night? “No,” Martin said of whether the Griffins hit buzzer-beaters in practice sessions very often. “So, this was great.” McMahon, a 5-foot-11 junior forward who so often is overshadowed by her …

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Girls Basketball: L-W East Ousts Homewood-Flossmoor in Sectional Semifinal

Lincoln-Way East 54, Homewood-Flossmoor 41: Meaghan McMahon made a heroic shot, and Taylor Johnson turned in a heroic performance as the Griffins took the rubber match from their Southwest Suburban Blue rivals on Tuesday night.

The Skinny: Meaghan McMahon made a heroic shot to end the first half in Lincoln-Way East’s 54-41 girls basketball victory over Homewood-Flossmoor in semifinal action Tuesday night at the Sandburg Sectional in Orland Park. Taylor Johnson took over the game in the second half. McMahon, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, banked home a 3-pointer from just across half-court line as the buzzer sounded to end the first half. Johnson, a senior guard who is headed to Loyola, recovered from foul trouble and scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half. The two teams split during the regular season, each winning on its home floor, and East used a 2-3 zone defense to control the rubber match. H-F played without Charnelle Reed, the Western Illinois…

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Ron Kremer

9:03 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Agreed. Taylor Johnson must avoid foul trouble. She did play through it vs. H-F, though. And she played with the composure of a leader, too.   more ›

L-W East Girls Basketball Rides D-Fence to Fifth Straight Regional Title

Lincoln-Way East's ball-pressure defense set the tone in the early going of the Griffins' 61-36 girls basketball victory over district rival Lincoln-Way North.

Two words: Ball pressure. Lincoln-Way East’s in-your-face brand of man-to-man defense set the tone in the early going of a 61-36 girls basketball victory over district rival Lincoln-Way North. East’s Caitlin McMahon came up with a steal after the Phoenix moved the ball on the perimeter for more than a minute during the opening possession of Thursday night’s Class 4A regional championship game at Lincoln-Way Central. McMahon scored on a layup 11 seconds later. And the Griffins were off and running toward their fifth straight regional championship. “We really took this game very seriously,” Lincoln-Way East coach Jim Martin said. “They’re good. They have 23 wins. Jim (Nair) is a great coach. He’s got great assistants. They do a nice job. I …

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Jacobsen Delivers—As Expected—For L-W East Girls Basketball Team

Senior guard Amy Jacobsen is one of the unsung heroes in the Lincoln-Way East girls basketball program. She hits perimeter shots. She plays defense. And she lets the limelight fall on the Griffins' dynamic duo of Taylor Johnson and Caitlin McMahon.

When Caitlin McMahon went missing in the first half of Lincoln-Way East’s 51-42 girls basketball victory over Sandburg on Tuesday night, Amy Jacobsen was there to pick up the scoring pace for the Griffins. Jacobsen scored eight of her 10 points in the first half. She knocked down two 3-pointers, including one from the top of the key with 9 seconds left in the second quarter to give East a 26-24 lead. Her work took on added importance because McMahon was limited two shots and two points in the first half. Sandburg used a zone defense to cut off the driving lanes for East’s Taylor Johnson and to sag as many as two and three defenders around McMahon, the 6-foot senior forward who is headed to Saint Xavier University. Jacobsen stepped up, just…

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Girls Basketball: L-W East Finds McMahon, Defense in Second Half of Win over Sandburg

Lincoln-Way East 51, Sandburg 42: Caitlin McMahon scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, and the Griffins tightened up their defense en route to a Southwest Suburban Blue girls basketball victory on Tuesday night.

The Skinny: Caitlin McMahon was missing in action during the first half of Lincoln-Way East’s 51-42 girls basketball victory over Sandburg on Tuesday night in Frankfort. So was the Griffins’ perimeter defense. McMahon worked harder to get open under the basket in the second half. Her teammates fed her the ball. And she scored 18 of her game-high 20 points. East, after allowing Sandburg to hit five 3-pointers in the first two quarters, fought through the Eagles’ screens and tightened up their defense over the final two quarters. The Griffins limited Sandburg to four points in the third quarter and two second-half 3s. Patch’s MVP: Caitlin McMahon, 6-0 senior forward, Lincoln-Way East. McMahon made 8-of-12 shots and scored a game-high 20 …

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The Sports Report

Wide Gap in Girls Basketball Talent Results in Charges of Running Up the Score

Don't point the finger at L-W East or coach Jim Martin. Inflated scores in high school girls basketball often are the result of a huge talent drop-off that puts the "haves" on a level way above the "have-nots."

Running up the score is a dirty subject no one in sports wants to talk much about, particularly not when it involves high school sports and accusations of poor sportsmanship on the part of coaches and/or players. The subject reared its ugly head on Patch message boards following Lincoln-Way East’s 45-9 girls basketball victory over district rival Lincoln-Way Central on Tuesday. “Shame on you,” is how one commenter chose to berate East’s coach. I say cheap shot. I’m sure there are occasions when coaches and/or players attempt to run up the score on opponents. It’s human nature to hold a grudge, cite payback as the motive for poor behavior. So, does it happen? You bet. Do I think Lincoln-Way East was guilty of running it up on Lincoln-Way …

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Ron Kremer

8:17 am on Sunday, January 15, 2012

Barry: Thanks for the comments. You make some good points, particularly the one about taking a group and playing with honor in the face of tall odds.   more ›

Johnson is the Name of the Game in L-W East Girls Basketball

Taylor Johnson's all-around play has Lincoln-Way East carrying an 11-0 record into the New Year. She led the Griffins to their fourth straight title in the Medieval Classic on Thursday night in Frankfort.

Lincoln-Way East girls basketball standout Taylor Johnson has been called many things by many people. Top defender. Honor roll student. People-to-People Ambassador Program nominee. And now she will be called MVP, too. Johnson, a senior guard and Loyola University recruit, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after leading East to a 48-33 victory over district rival Lincoln-Way North in the championship game of the Medieval Classic Thursday night on the Griffins’ home floor in Frankfort. “It’s a big honor to have people think I’m such a good player and deserve the award,” Johnson said. “So, that means a lot.” She made two 3-pointers and scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the first quarter as East (11-0) raced to leads of 9-2…

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L-W East Girls Basketball Refuses to Take Foot Off the Gas

The Lincoln-Way East girls basketball team keeps the pedal to the metal against opponents, no matter the score, as evidenced by East's 57-29 win against sister school Lincoln-Way West Tuesday in the Medieval Classic.

When you're up by nearly 20 points for an entire basketball game, keeping a killer instinct and playing defense can be tough to focus on. However, for the Lincoln-Way East girls basketball team, that task comes naturally to the senior-led squad. East topped sister school Lincoln-Way West 57-29 Tuesday in Day 2 action of the Medieval Classic and coach Jim Martin said it was all do to his dynamic senior players. “They're hard, they want to play,” Martin said. “With a kid like Taylor (Johnson), she plays hard every minute, every second. I don't have to tell her to play hard, she goes non-stop. When she plays and Caitlin (McMahon) plays—she runs so well up and down—they set the tone for us.” That tone, an up-tempo, hustling style proved too …

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