Brooks, Deerfield take key decision at Maine W.

Forcing 7 more turnovers than you commit and hitting 7 more free throws than your opponent even attempted is usually a recipe for success.

Not for Maine West on Friday night.

The Warriors dropped more than a 45-43 decision to visiting Deerfield on guard Liz Brooks' 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left. They likely lost their shot at the Central Suburban North title, for which they entered the game tied with the visitors.

In addition, according to their Hall of Fame coach Derril Kipp, they lost their spirit and desire somewhere along the way, likely after they scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to take a 38-34 lead.

"We just gave it away," at that point, said Kipp, who once again watched his team fail to finish. "Of our 10 losses, we've possibly had 7 of them where we gave the game away. It's disheartening."

They looked like they'd finished off Deerfield (10-12, 6-1) when junior forward Megan O'Neil hit two cold-as-ice free throws for a 42-42 tie with 33.4 seconds left and junior guard Sam Acosta (14 points) added another for a 43-42 lead with 14.3 seconds left.

But then reserve point guard Brooks, playing for fouled-out Liz Heitzinger, did her thing from the right wing with the Warriors (12-10, 5-2) denying the ball to 3-point Deerfield deadeye Colleen Forrest (14 points).

"I love watching her play," Deerfield coach Mark Muldrow said of Brooks, the junior who hit the game-winner and who had built a history of doing just that on the sophomore team last season. But he recognized the significance of the win too.

"That's the first time we've beaten them twice. That's the first time we've won in this gym," in Muldrow's tenure at least.

Despite committing all those turnovers and surrendering all those free throws, Deerfield won with defense (Maine West shot 12 of 47 from the floor and 2 of 16 from 3-point range), the rebounding of Kathleen Forrest and Kiley Hierl and some timely shooting from both Forrests, and, of course, Brooks.

Maine West's backcourt of Shaina Yalda and Acosta combined for 27 points, and O'Neil and Ellen Coogan supported them around the basket, but Kipp had the game figured out long before it ended.

"We didn't make free throws (17-of-26). We didn't make layups. We didn't deserve to win," he said.

Muldrow figured his 10-deep rotation had a lot to do with the outcome.

"That's what won the game, our bench," he stressed.

That, and Brooks' 3-pointer.