LETHAL LATHAM
Freshman forward ‘always wins,’ takes deep breath for H-F and puts Marist away in OT
One might think that the legs would at least be a little wobbly. But they weren’t. Homewood-Flossmoor freshman Alyssa Latham did afford herself several deep breaths Thursday night before she shot the biggest free throws of her career.
“At first I was nervous, but after all the practice we’ve done, I knew I would make them,” Latham said. “I just made sure to calm myself down and keep my composure.”
Hers weren’t the last free throws made in the game, but they proved to be the winners as H-F defeated Marist 45-42 in overtime in the Class 4A Stagg Sectional championship game.
Tia Morgan scored 16 points for the Vikings (25-4). Latham had just three points, but pulled down 14 rebounds. Imani Mitchell added nine points and Naya Haymon had eight.
Iowa recruit Sydney Affolter scored 20 points for Marist (29-5). Jenna Ryan added 14.
H-F will play Lincoln-Way West at 7 p.m. Monday in the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional.
Latham’s free throws came with 12.4 seconds remaining in OT and broke a 42-42 tie. At the other end, she produced a blocked shot.
“As I kept playing I kept pushing, especially on the defensive side,” Latham said. “I was just out there working hard.”
A 6-foot forward, Latham is slightly ahead of schedule in playing the hero role for H-F coach Tony Smith. Still, Smith wouldn’t have wanted anyone else at the line.
“We shoot a free-throw contest every day at practice,” Smith said. “She always wins. She puts in the time and effort every day. I was nervous, I can’t lie, but I had confidence in her.
“This was big. She is going to be
a big-time player for us. She’s the next good thing we’ll have.”
Playoff strong:
Already the all-time leading scorer at Lincoln-Way West, senior guard Taylor Gugliuzza is adding to the count in big numbers.
Gugluizza scored 33 points Thursday night during a 79-67 win over O’Fallon in the 4A Pekin Sectional championship game.
Brianna Wooldridge totaled 13 points and six rebounds for the Warriors (31-3). Tara Gugliuzza and Evan Pittman each contributed 10 points.
Gugliuzza, who’s averaging 18 points, has topped the 20-point mark in all of Lincoln-Way West’s playoff games.
“She seems like a girl on a mission these days,” Warriors coach Ryan White said. “She has been playing really well, sort of what you would expect out of a senior on her stretch run.”
Many of the extra points have come from long distance.
“Believe it or not, she hasn’t taken a ton of threes this year,” White said. “It seems as if that shot has come back to her.
“Add that to her ability to drive and get to the freethrow line, and it has made her even tougher in the last few games.”
Bent not broken:
Senior forward Katie Rost made the final big play for Providence a 40-38 victory over Marian Catholic in the 3A Hillcrest Sectional championship game.
It came on a steal as Marian (26-9) was setting up to try for the tie. Rost grabbed the ball and cradled it.
What made it even more special was she was using a left hand that shortly before wasn’t in very good shape.
Just before halftime, Rost dislocated her ring finger after jamming it into the ball. She had a big decision to make at halftime for Providence (27-8), which will play at 7 p.m. Monday against undefeated Morton in the Kankakee Supersectional.
“At first they wanted me to do it, but I wasn’t comfortable with that,” Rost said of popping her finger back into place. “My dad felt fine about doing it because he knew how badly I wanted to get back out there. I just turned away, and it was fine right after.”