Sophomore Sensation: Oak Lawn Girls Basketball Standout Brooks Coming of Age

Sophomore guard LaTondra Brooks showed senior poise for the Oak Lawn girls basketball team Monday night on Day 2 of Oak Lawn's Holiday Invitational.

Brooks scored 21 points in the Spartans' 65-60 victory over Rich East. She also had to deal with two very tough Rich East guards, Danielle Wright and Makeba Elliott.

And, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, she hit some big free throws to help Oak Lawn pull out a come-from-behind victory.

Brooks may have missed three potentially devestaing free throws late in the third quarter, but she was able to put those behind her. She went back to the line in the fourth quarter and sank two free throws during the course of Oak Lawn's 8-2 push going into the last three minutes of the game.

"We have good post players, so that helped me get good looks at the basket," Brooks said.

She has a world of time to decide on her college basketball destination, but she already has in mind what she'd like to study: journalism.

Who knows? Perphaps one day she'll be writing about others making big moves on the basketball court. For now, she is content doing what she can to help the Spartans' surge.