Kaitlyn Ray watched the game come to her, then proceeded to take it over.

Lincoln-Way West's senior guard poured in a game-high 21 points in the Warriors' 40-29 win against Romeoville on Saturday in New Lenox. Ray's big game not only helped lift her team to victory, it made Ray the newest member of the school's 1,000-point club.

"It was a big moment for her," head coach Ryan White said. "What I like is that the shots are coming throughout the game. She hasn't had to force much. She's just letting the game come to her."

Ray was the team's lone double-figure scorer. Jessica McDonald added six points, Samantha Villa chipped in with five and Myranda Eckberg tacked on four as Lincoln-Way West improved its record to 7-1.

Ray put in 12 first-half points as she knocked down four 3-point jumpers in the game's first 16 minutes. The senior singlehandedly outscored Romeoville in the first half, as the visitors scored only two points in the second quarter and eight total points in the game's opening quarters.

The Spartans' first-half struggles on the offensive end were evident. Romeoville struggled to keep close with the Warriors after ending the first quarter facing only a six-point deficit. Junior Hillary VanMeerten was the only Spartan to score in the second period. It would be the only two points she would muster in the game.

Yet, Romeoville came out after intermission with an adjusted game plan and a newfound sense of urgency. After loafing around the perimeter in the first half, the Spartans attacked the middle as they took to the comeback trail.

Kierra Currie finished with a team-high 10 points, six of which were scored in the third quarter as Romeoville (4-4) mounted its comeback.

Junior Precious Williams, who scored seven points, cut Romeoville's deficit to nine by splitting a pair of free throws with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter. But it was as close as the Spartans would get.

"The only thing I truly liked was the aggressiveness we showed in the second half. We pretty much cut down the lead to nine points, we just couldn't sustain that," said Romeoville head coach Julio Carrasco. "There's a lot of good things I can watch on film that we can correct. Other than that, we showed some heart in the second half."

Lincoln-Way West retained a double-digit advantage with senior Kelsey Christiansen's free throws, which would be the starting point for the Warriors to build a 14-point lead to end the third period before coasting to victory in the fourth.

Coach White said he was glad to see his team avoid falling into the dreaded "trap game."

"I thought this was a nice win for us. Romeoville is a talented, young team that I was concerned with as a coach," White said. "We had a big win on Thursday and play again on Monday, so I thought this could possibly be a trap game for us. The girls came out a little sluggish but they did what they needed to do to get a win."