Girls Basketball: Lincoln-Way East hoping to get Medieval again
By Tim Tierney For Sun-Times Media December 24, 2011 2:14PM
Caitlin McMahon (left) and Taylor Johnson (right) provide a solid 1-2 punch for Lincoln-Way East. | File photo
Girls Basketball Tournaments
And the local teams at each:
Edwardsville Tournament, Tuesday and Wednesday: Minooka.
Hillcrest Holiday Classic, Tuesday through Thursday: Lockport.
Lisle Tournament, Tuesday through Friday: Coal City, Joliet West.
Medieval Classic (at Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North), Tuesday through Thursday: Joliet Catholic, Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West, Plainfield South.
Momence Tournament, Tuesday and Wednesday: Dwight, Peotone, Wilmington.
Oswego East Tournament, Tuesday through Friday: Joliet Central, Lemont, Plainfield Central, Plainfield East, Plainfield North.
St. Bede Tournament, Tuesday through Friday: Seneca
Updated: January 26, 2012 8:13AM
Now that final exams for the semester are over at Lincoln-Way East, it’s time for an extended midseason test on the basketball court.
Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North will host the girls division of the four-day Medieval Classic Holiday Tournament, one of several events upcoming this week that involve local teams.
East (7-0) will be going for its third straight Medieval title, led by point guard Taylor Johnson and forward Caitlin McMahon. The Griffins defeated Lincoln-Way North for the championship the past two years.
“They’re gunning on their side of the pool to come and get us,” East coach Jim Martin said. “We’re hoping to get back from our side and try and make it three in a row.”
East plays Plainfield South on Monday, Lincoln-Way West on Tuesday and Joliet Catholic on Wednesday. The other four-team pool is Lincoln-Way North, Lincoln-Way Central, Queen of Peace and Lincoln Park. The winner of each pool will meet for the title at 6 p.m. Thursday at East.
The Griffins’ Johnson and McMahon both are averaging 14 points per game while forward Meaghan McMahon, Caitlin’s sister, is contributing 6 points and 6 rebounds per contest. Amy Jacobsen and Nathalie Hill are the other starters.
East hasn’t played since a Dec. 15 win over Homewood-Flossmoor, after having an 18-day layoff between the Richards Tournament and a Dec. 8 game at Joliet Central.
“We’re getting a little antsy,” Martin said. “We’ve looked at films of the last three games to see where the mistakes are at. I think the thing that will keep us winning games is we’re playing good defense.”
Meanwhile, Plainfield East (8-3) and Plainfield Central (7-4) head a group of five area teams at the Oswego East Winter Classic. Lemont, Plainfield North and Joliet Central also are in the tournament.
Plainfield East is expected to have more success than it did last year, when a 10-point loss to Lemont in the first round left the Bengals with a 4-8 record. East has won five in a row with freshman Faith Suggs doing a lot of the scoring.
The return of guard Brigid Hanley from ACL surgery has helped resurrect Plainfield Central after a 3-24 record last season. Hanley surpassed the school’s all-time scoring record of 1,194 points with two free throws in the Dec. 10 win over Plainfield North.
Elsewhere, Lockport plays T.F. North in the first round of the Hillcrest Holiday Classic, which includes south suburban powerhouses Marist, the host Hawks and Homewood-Flossmoor.
“We’re going to struggle if we can’t handle the basketball,” Lockport coach Krista Peterson said after a 74-21 loss to Bolingbrook on Dec. 15, the Porters’ most recent game.
Minooka is making a long downstate trip to play in the Edwardsville Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday, against Rockford Auburn and Champaign Central.
Coal City, Joliet West and Reed-Custer will be in the Lisle Holiday Classic. Coal City is coming off a 26-point victory over Wilmington and could be a factor led by guard Emily Halliday and forward Britta Spelde.
Peotone, Dwight and Wilmington will be the local teams playing in the Momence Tournament.
