Maggie Lewandowski, Oswego East celebrate home finale, rally from 12 down to beat Yorkville

OSWEGO – Maggie Lewandowski said the emotions of her last home game probably won’t hit her until next week, but the Oswego East senior guard was certain of one thing Tuesday.

She wanted to go out with a win.

“I do know that I will miss it. It’s bittersweet being the last one,” Lewandowski said. “I felt just leave it all out there. This is my last time playing on this court.”

Lewandowski indeed made sure her home finale was a memorable one.

She scored a game-high 26 points, capped off by six free throws in the final two minutes.

Oswego East came back from 12 points down in the third quarter to beat visiting Yorkville 65-57 in the Southwest Prairie Conference.

“That’s what you want to do on your last home game, is leave it all out there,” Oswego East coach Abe Carretto said. “Every senior got to get on the court, everybody played and our leading senior captain had a fantastic game to seal the win.”

Junior Aubrey Lewandowski added 17 points, including her 1,000th career point, and Desiree Merritt 12 points and a key charge in the final minutes for Oswego East (17-10, 11-5).

Madi Spychalski was tremendous in defeat for Yorkville (18-10, 11-5), scoring a career-high 25 points with eight rebounds. Brooke Spychalski added 13 points.

Madi Spychalski’s basket capped off Yorkville’s 10-0 run out of halftime, and gave the Foxes their biggest lead, 46-34 midway through the third quarter.

But Oswego East closed the gap to 48-44 by the end of the quarter on a Lewandowski driving layup, and took the lead with two Lamberti free throws a minute into the fourth.

“I realized they were trying to get it in the post where a lot of points were coming from,” Lewandowski said. “If I put pressure on the ballhandler it would limit them getting in the post.”

Yorkville seemed to score at ease for two and a half quarters, but the turnaround came with a flood of turnovers.

The Foxes turned it over 13 times in the second half, and scored just 21 points.

“Terrible. They take you out of every element,” Yorkville coach Kim Wensits said. “You give them a couple easy ones and then they see the ball go through the hoop.

“We settled and they said ‘Nope, not on our court.’ They stayed calm, they stayed composed and they didn’t get rattled. They don’t get rattled.”

Madi Spychalski had both of Yorkville’s baskets in the fourth quarter, and was dominant in the post shooting 10 of 14.

“She did a fabulous job,” Wensits said. “That was the thought, was let’s get it into her. They have nobody that can stop her. But you also have to get it past halfcourt.”

The two teams exchanged the lead four times in the fourth quarter until Oswego East took the lead for good, 54-53, on Lamberti’s basket in transition.

It also marked Lamberti’s 1,000th career point. Lewandowski, who scored her 1,000th in December, cherished being on the assist of her teammate’s moment.

“She didn’t actually know it was going to be her 1,000th, which made it cool,” Lewandowski said. “I wanted to be the one that got her the ball. I know the feeling.”

Lewandowski also knows the feeling of closing out a season-ending win over Yorkville.

Last year, she scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half and overtime of a win over Yorkville to clinch a conference title.

It’s a calming feeling for the Wolves to have the ball in the hands late of their four-year varsity player. She hit six free throws in a row in the last two minutes with the lead.

“I’m pretty comfortable with the ball, been point guard the last two years. I know they’re going to foul at the end,” Lewandowski said. “This is always a big game. Last year we won conference versus this team. It’s always fun and competitive. I wanted to go out with a win. It felt good.”

It’s been a good stretch run for Oswego East. The Wolves ripped off an 11-game winning streak after a 3-7 start to the season. They’ve bounced back from a three-game losing streak to beat conference champ Bolingbrook, Naperville Central in overtime and now Yorkville, splitting the season series.

Oswego East opens regional play against Naperville North on Monday at Benet. Yorkville plays Naperville Central on Tuesday at Metea Valley.

“We haven’t been able to make a playoff push in a while,” Lewandowski said. “We’re hoping this is the year.”