Sports
Extra Points: Johnson Powers Monster Night for H-F on Boards
Sydni Johnson typified the H-F girls' 59-40 victory over Lincoln-Way Central with a game-high 15 rebounds to augment her 11 points.
The opening Homewood-Flossmoor possession in the fourth quarter was as emblematic as it was telling.
Charnelle Reed capped it with a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Vikings' a 46-30 lead over Lincoln-Way Central in the Knights' regular-season girls basketball finale in New Lenox Thursday night.
But it was the manner in which the possession developed that epitomized the Vikings' dominance in which they scored 54 of the last 79 points in the contest in cruising to a 59-40 victory.
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The Reed 3-pointer was the Vikings' fourth shot of the possession.
Sydni Johnson was at the epicenter of the Vikings' brilliant effort on the backboards. The 5-foot-10 sophomore forward hauled in 15 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, to power the squad.
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"I knew we could do well on the offensive glass," Johnson said after the Vikings collected 21 of their teammates' misses. "I just wanted to work hard, crash the boards and play hard for the team."
"You're preaching to the choir," Lincoln-Way Central coach Loren Hess said of the disparity on the glass. "I have been begging and pleading with the girls all year about that. I know it happens to a lot of teams. We were doing way too much watching. When the ball goes up, we need to learn to find a body (to block out) and then look for the ball."
"The thing about her rebounds is that of the eight she had on offense, she probably turned them into eight points," H-F coach Dana Noble said of Johnson.
Junior forward Amena Brent was also in the mix for the Vikings' efforts on the glass. Brent scored six points and also grabbed five rebounds, three on the offensive side.
"We have to help our teammates out when they miss," Brent said. "We didn't want to lose tonight (after a tough Southwest Suburban Blue loss to Lincoln-Way East on Wednesday)."
For Lincoln-Way Central, which saw the regular-season careers of Hanna Hanlon, Amanda Gagliano, Kim Rietveld and Courtney Paarlberg come to a close, Rachel Post was a bright light with her 17 points.
Gagliano added 13 points, with Paarlberg contributing six.
"It was a great effort on behalf of the (senior) girls," Hess said. "They are all great kids, top notch in the classroom, too."
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