Girls Basketball: Lincoln-Way Central turns back Lockport

Updated: January 5, 2012 9:22PM

Calling a timeout with five minutes left in Thursday night’s game at Lockport, Lincoln-Way Central coach Chris Fetherling kept it simple with his strategy.

Be patient and keep passing.

Holding a five-point lead, the Knights kept the ball moving on three extended possessions to help kill the clock in Central’s 33-25 SouthWest Suburban Blue win.

“We do a good job of staying within our system,” Fetherling said. “We’re looking for and taking a good shot, and give the girls credit right there. Our game plan was to hold them under 30, and we executed.”

Rachel Post had 14 points for Central (10-5, 2-2), with Ashley Newton adding 10 points. Brittany Baker’s 12 points led Lockport (4-10, 0-4).

Newton hit two free throws and scored inside to give Central a 27-22 lead. Coming out of a timeout at the 4:45 mark, the Knights stayed patient against the Lockport defense, zipping the ball around the perimeter.

“The coaches told us to stay nice and patient,” Post said. “Then as long as we’re working on defense, hopefully, they won’t be able to get back into it.”

The Porters couldn’t take advantage when they did get the ball back, Baker splitting two free throws. After Lockport missed a fast-break layup, Post drove straight down the lane, hitting a runner and drawing a foul. Her three-point play gave Central a 30-23 lead with 1:38 to go.

“We were spread out on offense, and everyone was doing their job so the lane just opened up,” Post said with a smile.

Down two points heading into the fourth, Lockport went eight-plus minutes without a field goal, Taylor Quain’s layup at the buzzer closing the scoring.

“We couldn’t get a flow (offensively) because we couldn’t make a basket,” Lockport coach Krista Peterson said. “The frustration was building when you can’t hit the easy baskets.”

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.