Lisle Puts Up a Fight, but Bows to Westmont in Regional Title Game

Lisle, hoping to win its first regional title since 2004, carried out its game plan to the letter during the first half of a 36-30 loss to Westmont in the championship game Thursday night.

The Lions were patient offensively and packed in their zone defense to limit the effectiveness of Westmont’s inside tandem—6-2 Sara Sternard and 5-10 Allison Berg. That resulted in Lisle taking a 14-11 halftime lead over the Sentinels.

But Lisle went scoreless and committed seven turnovers during the third quarter—a quarter in which the Lions watched their three-point advantage turn into a nine-point deficit, 25-14.

“I thought the first half we played really well,” said Lisle head coach Dan Murray. “We did exactly the type of things that we wanted to do. We made things difficult for them and we had the lead. If their run would have been six or seven (points), they’re up four and we would have been in striking distance.”

Westmont, however, upped its lead to 28-14 early in the fourth on a three-point play from Sternard, who led all scorers with 12 points. Nevertheless, the Lions made a run at Westmont from there.

Senior forward Tara Sarb, playing in her final game for Lisle, finally ended the Lions’ second-half scoring drought with a three-pointer at 6:22 of the fourth quarter. Another Sarb trey kicked off a string of seven straight points by the Lions, who cut Westmont’s lead to 33-27 with 1:42 left.

Westmont coach Mike McCord, whose team (27-3) advances to the sectional tournament at Seneca on Monday night, blamed the Sentinels’ near collapse in the fourth quarter on a lack of intensity.

“I just said to the girls, ‘They’re out-hustling us right now and we just needed to hustle,’ ” he said. “We needed to play harder (in the fourth quarter). It wasn’t a matter of anything strategically we had to change. It was just a matter of go out and play better.”

Lisle had a chance to make it 33-29 after forcing a Westmont turnover, but missed a layup. Shortly thereafter, Sarb—who finished with a team-high 10 points and four steals—fouled out. The Lions also missed four free throws during the final period.

“We had our run late,” Murray said, “but the fact is that when it rained, it poured with us too many times this season. And they extended out to (a) 14 (point lead) at one point.

“Then you turn around in the fourth quarter and it’s a six-point game with a layup and a chance to make it four. You take away the breakdowns in the third quarter, but obviously you can’t have it back.”

Four straight points in the second quarter by Nicole Urban—another senior playing her final game—put the Lions in front 13-9. Lisle held Sternard and Berg to a combined eight points during the first half.

“They did a really nice job with the things we talked about,” Murray said. “Trying to pressure them, and we created some turnovers. I couldn’t have been prouder of my group. They could have easily hung their heads in the third (quarter) and got blown out, but they weren’t going to have any of that.”

The Lions, who finished 18-11 in Murray’s first season as coach, say goodbye to senior starters Sarb, Urban and Stephanie Petkovsek. But they’ll return a nucleus in 2011-12 that includes Darian Payne (seven rebounds, three steals), Shelby Kretman and sophomores Kelly Urban and Kristina Fernette, who had six points.

“Being able to play in this kind of environment, playing for the regional championship, the kids need this type of experience,” Murray said. “We return some strong pieces to the puzzle. We’ve got a couple of kids off the bench who I think can really step up and help us. It’s just a matter of how hard we work to make ourselves better basketball players.”

Westmont 36, Lisle 30

Westmont—J. Zapinski 0 0-0 0, Elzakhem 1 2-3 4, Su. Sternard 3 0-0 6, Bert 4 0-0 8, Wolff 1 0-0 3, Krenzle 0 0-0 0, Lechelt 1 0-0 3, Sa. Sternard 4 4-5 12. Totals: 14 6-8 36.

Lisle—Payne 1 0-0 2, Sarb 4 0-0 10, Kretman 2 1-2 5, N. Urban 2 1-1 5, Petkovsek 1 0-0 2, Fernette 2 1-4 6. Totals: 12 3-7 30.

Score by quarters

Westmont     4     7     14     12—36

Lisle                  4    10     0      16—30

Three point baskets: Westmont 2 (Wolff, Lechelt), Lisle 3 (Fernette, Sarb 2). Total fouls: Westmont 8, Lisle 12 (Sarb fouled out). Turnovers: Westmont 19, Lisle 16.