Analysis: L-W Central Makes Most of its Matchups with Taller T-Birds

Lincoln-Way Central coach Loren Hess said his players were ready and excited to take on Thornwood in Monday night’s Class 4A regional opener at Providence Catholic, even if the T-Birds had more height and plenty of speed.

The Knights may not have had the size to match up with the likes of Thornwood center Dorothy Taylor—who recorded nine points and 14 rebounds even while plagued by early foul trouble—or 6-foot-2 reserve Jessica Warren, who came off the bench to pull down eight boards.

But Lincoln-Way Central did have a red-hot shooter in Rachel Post to get the team off to a quick start and a pair of senior players who played taller than their stature down low in Hanna Hanlon and Kim Rietveld.

Hanlon and Rietveld may have been giving up a few inches to their opponents on Monday, but that never stopped them from fighting hard for position and helping Taylor pick up two quick fouls in the first quarter and later have to sit when she picked up her fourth whistle in the third quarter.

The 5-9 Hanlon had pedestrian numbers of five points, three rebounds and a pair of steals, but she and Rietveld (team-high 8 boards) kept the T-Birds from dominating the glass more than they did (43-33).

“There’s no quit in her. Hanna’s just not going to back down from anybody. I don’t care,” said Knights coach Loren Hess, noting that Hanlon has accepted her role as a tough defender who may not often light up the scoreboard.

“It could’ve been our last game tonight but it wasn’t,” Hanlon said after Central’s 54-39 victory. “We all worked hard. Rachel Post started us off and we fed of off each other and cheered each other on.”

Post, who advanced to round two in the Three-Point Showdown prior to the game, connected on five three-pointers on her way to a career-high 25 points.

“I’ve never been that hot in a game,” Post said. “I was feeling it in the first (half), especially with the threes that started us off.”

Three-Point Showdown: Four players advanced to Tuesday’s round, where they will square off against four shooters from Marian Catholic. Among those advancing was the Knights’ Rachel Post, who defeated teammate Courtney Paarlberg in a tiebreaker shootout to reach the next round. The other three advancers were Thornwood players including Nicole Brown, who led the way with seven three-pointers in the competition. Post then went out and scored a career-best 25 points in the win over the T-Birds.

Regional Semis: Knights coach Loren Hess knows his squad will have its hands full with the top-seeded Spartans on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean his players will take the court in awe. “We’ve seen a lot of improvement and the hard work’s paying off,” he said after Monday’s 54-39 victory. “Now (Tuesday) night we do not match up quite as well with Marian. But our girls have nothing to lose. We’re going to go out and play and see what happens. That’s why you all start out 0-0 in the regional.”

Hot Link: For more on Lincoln-Way Central’s victory over Thornwood, click .