Sure defense wins championships but the Lions Township girls basketball team’s most pressing concern is a lack of scoring. After all, as Bob Cousy said in the hoops film Blue Chips, the object of the game is to put the ball in the hole.
While consistent scoring has been an issue all season, the Lions managed to split a pair of games last week courtesy of tremendous defense and a few timely buckets. Trailing Downers Grove North 27-26 with less than a minute remaining on Friday, the Lions’ 5-foot-9 guard Riley Donovan scored a go-ahead inside bucket and junior Colleen Connors added a pair of free throws paving the way for a 32-27 victory.
“The game was definitely a defensive battle,” said first-year LT coach Katie Meyers. “I thought we put Downers North on the free-throw line too much [DGN shot 20 free throws], but our defense was great and we had a low turnover count. Unfortunately, we didn’t hit many shots but we found a way to win.”
Connors led LT with eight points while Hannah Drogosz (7 points) and Lindsay Esposito (6 points) also contributed offensively.
On Feb. 8, St. Joseph showed more than enough offensive firepower to beat LT 57-39. Connors paced the Lions with 11 points and Esposito added nine points. After falling behind early, the Lions battled back within 10 of the highly regarded Chargers at the end of the second quarter.
“I was really proud of the girls’ effort,” Meyers said. “I think they showed more fight against St. Joseph than any other game this season. We played pretty good defense, but [St. Joseph] can really shoot the ball.”
The Chargers shot 60 percent for the game.
Lyons finished the regular season with a 9-16 record, 4-8 in the West Suburban (Silver) Conference. The Lions were scheduled to take on DuSable in the opening round of the St. Ignatius Regional last night (after deadline).
“We’re looking forward to the playoffs,” said Meyers. “We have been getting awesome shots inside and wide open three’s. It’s just a matter of knocking down shots.”
