The Oak Park and River Forest girls varsity basketball team faced the Morton Mustangs in their last home game on Jan. 22. Although the game ended in a last-minute 35-37 loss, the Huskies showed flashes of perseverance and determination.
The game took place on senior night, when seniors walked on the court accompanied by their parents and team to honor their last time playing in their home gym.
At game time, Head Coach Renee Brantley started an all-senior lineup. Seniors Aoife Mahic and Gabriella Chesney showed grit early on, forcing several turnovers. The Huskies failed to convert, however, turning over the ball several times in the first quarter.
Before the game, Mahic reflected on her biggest takeaways from basketball, saying, “I think it’s about camaraderie. That’s the biggest thing that’s pushed me in basketball, learning to deal with people who are very different from you. It’s community-driven.”
The second quarter saw back-to-back scores from Chesney and Senior Ellie Brucato. Things started to heat up soon after with a conversion off a turnover.
Junior Guard Olivia Cruz spoke on the leadership of her senior teammate, “In all the practices, no matter how good or bad we are doing, Ellie is always the one who just kind of believes in us.”
When I asked about the influence of the coaching staff, Cruz said, “Since we have such a big coaching staff on varsity this year, all of them put their ideas together, and it expands into something really nice.”
The Huskies went on a scoring streak in the second half, bringing the deficit within one with baskets from Chesney and a transition three from Junior Guard Taryn Draine. The Mustangs answered with a run of their own, bringing their lead to 7 points with four minutes remaining in the third. With two clutch free throws from star freshman guard Katara Watson, the score was 20-26 Mustangs at the end of the quarter.
To start the fourth quarter, Watson converted on her own block, scoring an easy layup. On a later drive, she drew a foul, making two more free throws. Chesney scored not long after on an offensive rebound, bringing the score to 26-30 Mustangs.
After two straight threes from Watson, the crowd erupted, as they had the score within reach, 32-33 Mustangs. With a clutch time layup, the Huskies had their first lead of the game with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Huskies number 40, junior Tegan Smith, then drew a foul, bringing the Huskies up 35-34, answered by a Mustang layup, taking the score to 35-37.
The officials had initially let the clock run out, but after reviewing the call, they saw that Coach Brantley had called a timeout with 1.7 seconds to go. On an incredible inbound, Watson heaved the ball up, missing by inches, ending the game as an unfortunate loss.
Chesney later said, “Even though the outcome of senior night wasn’t what we wanted, we never gave up. We loved having a crowd there to support us. The future of girls’ basketball is bright. There is so much talent, and once they learn how to work together as a team, they’ll be much more competitive.”
