In 2023, senior Nora Ezike missed the Lyons Township High School girls basketball team’s entire holiday tournament schedule with a memorable trip visiting relatives in Nigeria. Ezike and many others won’t soon forget what the 6-foot-2 Stanford recruit achieved during the Lions’ return to the 16-team Montini Christmas Tournament.
She was named Most Valuable Player after achieving a single-game, school-record 40 points, reaching 1,000 career varsity points and helping the Lions finish third with a 3-1 overall record.
“I was really excited to receive that. I feel like I had a few good games and I played pretty consistently, which I’m proud of,” Ezike said. “I’m just disappointed we didn’t win the tournament but overall I feel like the tournament helped us a lot and it’s something we’ll look toward that’ll help us improve as a team.”
The Lions (16-1) defeated Marist (14-4) for third 72-50 on Dec. 28 after suffering their first loss of the season 71-58 to eventual champion Benet Academy (15-1) in the Dec. 27 semifinal after winning their first meeting. LTHS beat Prospect (12-4) in the Dec. 26 quarterfinal 71-58 behind Ezike’s 40-point game and St. Laurence 69-40 in the Dec. 23 opener as junior Gwen Smith scored a personal-best 24 points.
“This tournament had some really great and talented athletes, and for Nora to be recognized by all coaches for being above and beyond speaks to her ability to impact the game on both ends and the type of person she is,” LTHS coach Meghan Hutchens said.
Ezike amassed 109 points for the tournament with a team-best 32 rebounds and 22 deflections. Other standouts were juniors Emma O’Brien (63 points with 8 three-pointers, 27 rebounds, 21 assists, 15 steals), Smith (70 points, 24 rebounds, 9 assists) and Avery Mezan (14 points, 14 rebounds), senior Tess Bernson (13 rebounds, 8 assists) and freshman Sydney Munson (4 points).
“[We learned about] bouncing back from a loss. Benet’s a great team and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing them again,” Hutchens said. “[It’s] just learning from our mistakes. We’ll watch some film and learn what we need to do.”
Against Prospect, Ezike’s 40 points came on 15-for-19 shooting (0-for-2 on threes) and 10 for 10 on free throws, breaking the record of 39 points by 2005 graduate Mallory Heydorn.
Last season, Ezike scored 32 points against Glenbard West. O’Brien scored 33 against Lane Tech Nov. 27.
Ezike reached 40 on two free throws with 2:35 left for a 66-50 lead after her fourth conventional three-point play of the game. She had a 13-point fourth quarter following nine points in each of the first three.
“I was impressed with how much she got to the basket. Scoring 40 points is not easy. Going 10 for 10 from the line is not easy,” Hutchens said. “She’s explosive to the basket. She’s really hard to stop and I think she proved a proved a point there, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Lyons Township’s Emma O’Brien (43) drives to the basket against Prospect’s Allison Linke (23) during the 15th Annual Montini Catholic Christmas Tournament Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024 in Westmont, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Lyons Township’s Avery Mezan (20) tries to knock the ball away from Prospect’s Angelina Falls (12) during the 15th Annual Montini Catholic Christmas Tournament Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024 in Westmont, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Lyons Township’s Tess Bernson (11) works up court against Prospect’s Colleen Shute (5) during the 15th Annual Montini Catholic Christmas Tournament Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024 in Westmont, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Lyons Township’s Gwen Smith (21) and Prospect’s Zoe Black (15) try to gain control of the rebound during the 15th Annual Montini Catholic Christmas Tournament Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024 in Westmont, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark)
Needing six points, Ezike reached 1,000 career points against Benet on her fast-break basket with 3:48 left in the first quarter that gave the Lions a 12-9 lead. The game was stopped momentarily as the Lions commemorated the moment with a poster and photo of Ezike with teammates and coaches.
“Coach kind of kept it a little bit of a surprise,” Ezike said. “I was really excited to get that. I knew I was somewhere around [1,000].”
After that, the Redwings enjoyed most of the celebrating. LTHS trailed 49-46 entering the fourth quarter and closed within three points two more times but the Redwings scored baskets on three straight possessions to lead 62-53. The Lions had beaten Benet 77-67 in the Nov. 19 season opener in Lisle. The Redwings defeated Fremd 67-64 in the championship game and overtook the Lions as the No. 1 team in the Chicago area.
Ezike (23 points, 6 rebounds), Smith (18 points, 6 rebounds) and O’Brien (11 points, 11 rebounds) all reached double figures, but the Lions also committed 17 turnovers and couldn’t take advantage of their considerable 39-24 rebounding advantage, scoring just five points directly from 15 offensive boards.
The Lions responded well against Marist. They ended the second quarter with a 10-3 run, including eight points and two threes from O’Brien, for a 45-36 halftime lead. They continued with the first eight points of the third quarter, six from Ezike, to lead 53-36.
Ezike (30 points, 9 rebounds) and O’Brien (24 points with 4 threes) led the charge.
“I think we learned a lot from the loss. I definitely think it helped us come out with more energy [against Marist]. I shot better as the tournament went on. They (Marist) were definitely giving me more space.”
To help generate energy, Hutchens said she had the Lions begin with and use primarily man-to-man defense instead of their usually effective 1-3-1.
“[Hutchens] wanted us to start out going hard and in a zone it’s hard to do that. In man, we just wanted to pick up the intensity,” Mezan said. “I think we did a really good job sharing the ball most of our games. Also from the Benet loss we learned more about our zone defense and how to perfect it.”