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Sports

Extra Points: Eight Seniors Put Building Blocks in Place at Lincoln-Way West

The record will show first graduating class wins 39 games, regional title for Warriors.

MORRIS–Years from now, members of the Lincoln-Way West girls basketball team won’t remember much about the first couple of varsity seasons.

However, eight seniors built a solid foundation for the program that includes back-to-back 19-plus win seasons and a regional championship.

“The senior class put the building blocks in place for future years to come,” Lincoln-Way West coach Ryan White said. “I think they’ve done a great job with that.”

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They include Sara Losacco, Ashley Sichak, Taylor Blyth, Michelle Seliga, Sam Villa, Jessica McDonald, Kaitlyn Ray and Nikki Sieger.

Ray scored 14 points during her final high school game, a 58-48 loss to Morris on Wednesday night in semifinal play at the Class 4A Morris Regional. Her back-to-back three-pointers turned a 32-24 disadvantage into a 32-30 deficit with 2:10 to play in the third quarter.

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McDonald scored 10 points and Villa chipped in nine. Losacco was all over the court, literally. She had seven steals and numerous floor burns before fouling out with 7:02 to play.

Sieger was also seen scrambling after loose balls throughout the evening.

“They did a great job and they are the ones that started the program off last year and this year,” White said.

A year ago during its first varsity season, the Warriors won 19 games and the Class 3A Ottawa Regional championship. That’s the equivalent of an expansion team winning a division in professional sports.

This year, Lincoln-Way West picked up where it left off a year ago, putting together a 20-7 regular season and earning the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A Morris Regional.

“Twenty wins this year and 19 last year is nothing to be ashamed of,” White said. “It’s hard to end it on a night like this because they’ve done such great things over the last two years for this program. I feel bad for them, but it’s that time of the year."

Hot Links: Miss something? Read: "Despite Top Seed, Lincoln-Way West Falls to Morris in Regional Opener" http://patch.com/A-fjrJ

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