Girls Basketball: Oak Lawn Outruns Oak Forest for Big Home Victory

The Skinny: turned Thursday’s basketball game into a track meet, pushing the ball in transition consistently and coming away with a 67-59 victory over visiting . The sophomore duo of Brooke Annerino and LaTondra Brooks combined to score 45 points for the Spartans. Oak Forest dug itself a seven-point halftime deficit, partly due to nine first-half turnovers. The Bengals got within five points several times in the second half, but couldn’t close the deficit further. Oak Lawn overcame late turnover issues to put away the Bengals in the fourth quarter.

Patch’s MVP: Oak Lawn’s LaTondra Brooks. The 5-foot-6 sophomore guard was electric on both ends of the court. When Brooks wasn’t scoring, she was pushing the ball in transition and finding open teammates. Oak Forest had no answer for Oak Lawn’s first-year starter.  

Key Stats: Oak Forest and Oak Lawn each committed 15 turnovers in the game. The Spartans erupted for 38 points in the second half.    

Oak Lawn Leaders: LaTondra Brooks (25 points, 6 steals), Brooke Annerino (20 points), Katie Gulino (8 points).

Oak Forest Leaders: Katie Swanson (15 points), Emily Naegele (9 points), Kelly McEathron (11 points).  

Quotable I: Oak Lawn’s LaTondra Brooks: “Coach always tells us to run the ball in transition, so that’s what we like to do. Most teams we’re going to outrun, and that’s all we do in practice is push the ball up.”

Quotable II: Oak Forest coach Steve Schanz: “The entire team outran us out there. They outhustled us the entire game.”

Team Records: Oak Lawn improves to 5-3 (2-1 South Suburban Conference) while Oak Forest falls to 3-5 (2-1 South Suburban).

What’s Next: Oak Forest hosts Illiana Christian on Dec. 12. Oak Lawn travels to Hillcrest on Dec. 15.