by shawn long
Sports writer
The Wilmington girls basketball team got a 22-point effort from the Anna and Lexi Liaromatis to lead them to a 30-29 win over Morris on Saturday to capture third place in the Lady Comet Classic.
Anna had 16 points doing most of her work from fast breaks to the basket. She also had 14 boards.
“It feels great,” said Anna Liaromatis. “Wilmington basketball has definitely struggled over the last couple years. Even though it’s a small piece of hardware it’s something. It shows how hard we worked and I’m really excited to see what the season has for us.”
Lexi chipped in six points working hard inside the paint. Both were a force throughout the tournament and Lexi got the All-Tournament team nod. She also had three rebounds and three assists.
“We’re a tag team duo. We work well together. I’m really proud of her for getting All-Tournament. It shows how hard she works.” commented Anna.
Wilmington made their way out in front but Morris quickly stole a 16-13 half-time advantage.
“We went in the locker room and coach (Eric Dillon) was like ‘these are going to be the most important quarters’ and we need to come out and press. We caught them on a couple passes, a couple steals and I think that put us up to a nice ending to the game. We do a great job as a team and we’re really like a selfless team.”
Morris added an 8-4 run to make it 24-17 but the ‘Cats came back with a 13-5 run of their own to end it.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way they fought in that game,” said WHS girls basketball coach Eric Dillon. “We faced an adversity coming into that game right from the beginning because of a short bench. We were missing Alexa Clark and Gracie Sanders today. They just fought and coming back, I just couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Wilmington made just 26 percent of their shots from the floor, making just one three and 1-of-4 from the line so they didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. They were out-rebounded 36-32.
Clara Smith and Kaitlyn O’Donnell chipped in four points. O’Donnell had four boards with an assists while smith and Carlie Freis had a rebound.
Anna led in steals with five while Lexi swiped four. Breanna Horton and Smith nabbed another.
The Lady ‘Cats will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 29 when they host Manteno.
Wilmington 42
Grant Park 41
The Lady ‘Cats scored a game-winning free throw against Grant Park on Thursday.
The Lady ‘Cats and the Dragons matched each other’s scoring the first quarter 7-7 but Grant Park pulled out in front with a 19-11 run to take a 26-18 lead at the half.
But the ‘Cats kept scratching and clawing as they would outscore the Dragons 24-15 to close out the game.
The Lady ‘Cats shot 27% from the floor, draining six threes with 28 rebounds. They were out-rebounded by the Dragons, who collected 40.
Wilmington’s Lexi Liaromatis had a game as she led their offense with 14 points, most of which came on inside lay ups but she did knock down a three and also made 5-of-9 from the line. She was also second on the team with six boards with two assists.
Kaitlyn O’Donnell was money from beyond the arc as she drained three of their six long range shots. She also had three boards.
Alexa Clark drilled one of their other threes with six points. She made one of her two free-throws and dished out an assist.
Anna Liaromatis had five points making a free-throw with two lay ups but she also had the team lead for rebounds, corralling 11 with an assist.
Breanna Horton and Clara Smith added three points. Horton drained three free-throws while Smith made their other three. Horton made three boards.
The Lady ‘Cat defense forced 21 turnovers, stealing eight with a block. They also scored 13 points off of the Dragons’ turnovers.
Horton led in steals, swiping three while Clark had two, and both Anna and Lexi added another. Anna also had a big block.
Wilmington 40
G-SW 28
The Lady ‘Cats had two big runs that led them to a victory over Gardner-South Wilmington on Wednesday.
The ‘Cats struck early and often as they went on a 20-8 run to take a strong half-time lead.
They matched G-SW’s output in the second half but the Panthers were too little too late as the ‘Cats played bend but don’t break defense.
Wilmington’s defense was swarming as they forced G-SW into 29 turnovers and ended up scoring 21 points off of turnovers. They accumulated 16 team steals.
The girls were led by Clark and O’Donnell, who swiped four each.
Anna had three steals while Lexi added another two.
Gracie Sanders, Horton and Smith also had a steal.
The offense could have had a better day from the floor, making just 26 percent of their shots. They drained three treys and were under 50 percent from the line with 48 boards.
Lexi led them with 12 points as she drilled a three with three free-throws. She also corralled seven boards.
Horton chipped in nine points with three and seven rebounds. She also dished out two assists.
Anna added eight points, making another one of their three pointers with nine boards and an assist.
O’Donnell and :Clark also had four points. O’Donnell and Clark chipped in eight rebounds while O’Donnell had two assists and Clark dished out another.
Smith made a bucket while Sanders sunk a free throw. Sanders chipped in five boards.
