Westmont ousts Lisle in OT
Lisle High School is becoming Westmont's home away from home come February basketball playoffs.
This one might hurt the Lions the most.
Susie Sternard's layup with 15 seconds left in overtime gave Westmont a 31-30 win over Lisle in Saturday's Class 2A regional final, the Sentinels beating the Lions on their home floor in the championship game for the third straight year.
Westmont (19-11) eliminated Lisle from the postseason for the fourth year in a row, and the Sentinels did it in front of a raucous crowd.
"It is such a big thing to come to Lisle and beat them and have our fans support us," said Sternard, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds and whose older sister Sara starred on Westmont's last two regional champs. "It's a great feeling."
Lisle (20-10), which led for almost the entire second half and overtime, took its last lead with 28.6 seconds left in the extra session. Shelby Kretman, who scored a team-high 14 points for the Lions, split two free throws to make it 30-29.
Westmont struggled at times to get through Lisle's defense to the 6-foot-1 Sternard, but Jackie Elzakhem found Sternard open for a lob and layup.
Lisle had one last chance, but Darian Payne missed a shot in heavy traffic near the basket in the final seconds.
Close calls are nothing new for these two teams.
Lisle and Westmont met three times during the regular season, the Lions winning twice, with two of the games decided by a single basket. In none of the three games did the winning team score more than 36 points.
"These girls just have a lot of grit," Westmont coach Mike McCord said. "We make a lot of mistakes, but we make up for it with heart."
Lisle seemed on the precipice of winning its first regional since 2004 and second in school history, Payne scoring with 3:21 left to give the Lions a 27-23 lead.
It wasn't to be. Sternard's steal at halfcourt with a minute left and ensuing basket tied it, forcing overtime. The Lions had 4 costly turnovers late in the fourth quarter, and 8-of-17 free-throw shooting didn't help matters.
"We had numerous chances to make it a two-possession game," Lisle coach Dan Murray said. "We just couldn't finish."
Payne, Lisle's other senior starter, scored 10 points and 7 rebounds.
As good as Lisle's season was, Murray was left playing the what-if game. The Lions won their first eight Interstate Eight Conference games but lost their title shot with a five-point loss at Peotone and an overtime loss at Seneca. There also was a two-point loss to Plano in the I-8 tournament opener.
"It was kind of a year of close but not good enough," Murray said. "We could have had a conference championship and a regional. It's frustrating because you look at yourself as a coach and the mistakes you made. I'll take the blame for those close losses."