Girls Basketball: Clutch Play of Brooks Earns Oak Lawn Win Over Rich East

The Skinny: Oak Lawn used an 8-2 run to close out Monday night's 65-60 girls basketball victory over Rich East in play at the Spartans' Holiday Invitational. It took the Spartans a while to adjust to the Rockets' run-and-gun style. And it seemed the game was over for the Spartans when LaTondra Brooks missed three free throws with about 30 seconds left in the third quarter, but Brooks was instrumental as Oak Lawn fought back in the fourth quarter. The game was tied four times in the second half before Oak Lawn pulled ahead for the final time. The Spartans used clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Patch MVP: Oak Lawn's LaTondra Brooks led all scorers with 21 points. She also had five rebounds, three steals and one assist.

Key Stats: Oak Lawn made 22-of-35 shots, including 3-of-9 from the three-point arc. The Spartans were 12-of-25 from the free throw line. The Spartans had the edge on rebounding (36-25). Rich East made 23-of-59 shots, including 3-of-11 from three-point range. The Rockets were 13-of-32 from the free throw line. Rich East had 25 turnovers to Oak Lawn's 28.

Oak Lawn Leaders: Aside from Brooks, Brooke Annerino had 13 points, four rebounds and two steals. Gina Baldea had eight points and 10 rebounds. Jannah Mahmoud had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Rich East Leaders: Makeba Elliott had 20 points to lead the Rockets. She also had seven rebounds and three steals. Danielle King had 19 points and eight steals. Myriah Pair had five points and two steals off the bench.

Quotable I: Oak Lawn coach Janet Haubenreiser: "It took us a while to adjust to what Rich East was doing defensively, but once we did, we did a better job of taking care of the ball. I thought down the stretch we did a better job of controlling the clock, and that was the difference."

Quotable II: Oak Lawn coach Janet Haubenreiser on her team's free throw shooting: "This was probably one of the worst free throw shooting games we had all year, as we've been over 70 percent most of the year. For us to go 12-of-25 is unacceptable, but we were able to hit the ones we needed to."

Team Records: Oak Lawn improves to 7-4. Rich East falls to 8-5.

What's Next: Both teams are in action Dec. 20, contuining in pool play in the Oak Lawn Holiday Invitational. Oak Lawn faces Romeoville and Rich East draws Evergreen Park. Both games tip-off at 4:30 p.m.