Girls Basketball: Lincoln-Way Central tops Minooka in OT
By Tina Akouris takouris@suntimes.com November 16, 2012 9:50PM
Lincoln-Way Central's Autumn Schultz (20) battles Minooka's Sydney Arlis for a rebound Friday, November 16, 2012. | Allen Cunningham~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: December 19, 2012 1:23PM
Kelsie Foster’s game-high 15 points and Autumn Schultz’s go-ahead basket in overtime helped host Lincoln-Way Central to a 30-29 victory Friday night over Minooka in each team’s season opener in New Lenox.
Foster was shut out in the overtime period, but Schultz was able to give the Knights a two-point lead with a layup at the 1:29 mark.
Minooka cut the lead to one on Karli Carter’s free throw, but she missed her second free-throw attempt. The Indians took a timeout with 1.8 seconds to play and the score 30-29, but Sydney Arlis missed a shot at the buzzer that would have given Minooka the victory.
“We all came together as a team and just picked it up,” Foster said. “We pushed and had a good feeling we should pick it up. There were lots of nerves. All of us were shaking and we were very nervous.”
Both teams slogged through the first half and couldn’t seem to find the basket until late in the second quarter. At the end of the first period, the score was tied at 4. Neither team could make a basket until the 5:52 mark of the second quarter when Minooka’s Erin Heide made a layup.
Then the Knights seemed to wake up. Foster scored all nine of her first-half points in the half’s final five minutes, helping the Knights to a 13-8 halftime lead.
“Both teams struggled offensively, really, but Minooka plays super-hard and those girls should be proud of themselves,” Knights coach Chris Fetherling said.
Minooka led for most of the third quarter, but the Knights took a 19-18 edge by period’s end. The score was tied twice in the fourth quarter before Sydney Lilly put the Indians ahead 28-26 with less than a minute to play. Schultz’s two free throws with 51.1 seconds to go tied the score at 28.
