LeGrand-Melton, Lisle roll past Westmont

Lisle star TyAnn LeGrand-Melton can do a lot of things well.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard demonstrated that Monday night with a dominant performance against Westmont.

LeGrand-Melton led all players with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks as the host Lions knocked off Westmont 41-23 in an Interstate Eight Small opener.

LeGrand-Melton scored 12 points in the first half, including the first two of her four 3-pointers, as she took advantage of the Sentinels' lax zone defense.

"TyAnn has always been a good shooter, but in our first six games she has been so consistent," Lisle coach Nick Balaban said. "She's shooting the ball really well for us, but she plays a complete game.

"For somebody that is known as an offensive threat, she does everything. She defends for us, she can guard out on the perimeter, she can defend in the post, she rebounds, she's a good passer. It's really good to watch her play."

For much of the game it seemed the Sentinels (1-5, 0-1) were content to stand around and watch LeGrand-Melton shoot. She obliged them by sinking 7 of 17 shots.

"I was kind of surprised a little bit (at being so open), but I just was looking for my shot and trying to knock them down," LeGrand-Melton said. "I try to stay pretty consistent in my shooting so I can help the team out."

Westmont held an early 3-1 lead, Nicole Cyranoski's 3-pointer triggered a 12-0 run by the Lions (4-2, 1-0), who outscored the Sentinels 21-5 in the second quarter to take a 31-8 halftime lead.

Junior Natalie Takahaski tallied 10 of her 11 points during the decisive second quarter, but the key was strong defense.

"We did some of our best defense in a while and we just played together," LeGrand-Melton said. "I felt like we played really good."

McKenzie Weaver added 5 points and center Abbey Kretman had 4 points and 8 rebounds for Lisle, which isn't a deep team but has two veteran standouts in Takahaski and LeGrand-Melton.

"We can do a lot of things by having them on the floor," Balaban said. "They score but they both can defend and do other things that can help us."

Sydney Pardy scored 9 points to lead Westmont, which shot 7 for 27 from the free-throw line. The Sentinels are learning a new system and don't have much experience.

"We've done good things at different points in the game," first-year Westmont coach Jeff Pearson said. "We haven't been able to string together enough good things consistently for those results to show on the scoreboard.

"This is s a group of good girls that work hard and they care about winning and losing and they care about getting better. When you have that good things will eventually happen."