Emma O’Brien catches fire in third quarter, but Lyons can’t overcome cold start in loss to Young

LA GRANGE – Emma O’Brien fought back tears as she stood with equally misty teammate Nora Ezike reflecting on the heartbreak of a season in their hearts done too soon.

Fight, O’Brien showed plenty of it Tuesday.

O’Brien and Lyons could not have had a worse start to their playoff game with Young. Top-seeded Lyons missed its first six shots, and trailed by 20 by the second quarter.

But O’Brien, scoreless at halftime, looked like the talented junior out of the break. She scored all of the Lions' 18 points in the third quarter.

“I just knew I owed it to my teammates to play better than I did,” O’Brien said. “I knew if we wanted to get back in the game I had to play better.”

Lyons' valiant comeback whittled away at what was a 25-point Young third quarter lead. But ultimately it was too little, too late, a record-breaking season ending with a 65-52 loss in a Class 4A Lyons Sectional semifinal.

“That’s sports,” Lyons coach Meghan Hutchens said. “I told them this game does not define us or anything that happened this season.”

Stanford recruit Ezike had 22 points and 11 rebounds and O’Brien finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Lyons (31-3). Kiaya Johnson and Gaby Domercant each scored 17 points and Destiny Jackson 16 for Young (24-9), which advances to face Kenwood in an all-Chicago Public League final Thursday.

Lyons, already with a school record for wins, sought two more wins this week for the program’s first sectional title since 1999. A huge crowd was on hand in La Grange, the loud Lyons student section in all white.

The air was quickly taken out of all that anticipation.

While Lyons missed its first six shots, Domercant drilled three of Young’s eight 3-pointers in the first three minutes for an 11-1 lead.

“Maybe a little bit of nerves at the beginning,” O’Brien said. “We didn’t expect their role players to come out hot.”

Indeed, while Illinois commit Jackson was relatively quiet in a five-point first half, her teammates were anything but. Domercant and Johnson combined to hit six 3-pointers in the first half, a Johnson 3-pointer capping an 11-0 run for a 31-11 lead.

“[Domercant] is about a 40% 3-point shooter, so she can make it. It’s the way she got it,” Hutchens said. “Every good look they got, they made. Everything we were getting, we were still scrapping.”

Ezike scrapped for 14 of Lyons' 18 halftime points in trailing 36-18, until O’Brien caught fire. She hit six field goals and two free throws, her last basket sending Lyons into the fourth quarter down 52-36.

“That’s never happened to me,” O’Brien said of the dramatic turnaround. “I got in the flow, started taking what they were giving to me instead of forcing shots.”

Hutchens was hardly surprised to see it from her junior forward.

“We kept saying, again, we know what we are capable of,” Hutchens said. “Regardless of if we can’t put the ball in the basket, you can’t give up. And they didn’t give up.”

Lyons whittled away in the fourth quarter, sending Young to the line – the Dolphins made just 12 of 26 free throws – but never could overcome the 7-for-27 first half shooting.

“It’s not the way we wanted to start the game. We missed so many shots, shots that we normally make,” Hutchens said. “But that’s part of the highs and lows of the game. Not the way we wanted to start, but they fought back. If there is a shot clock maybe it’s a different outcome.”

Not the outcome Ezike and the Lions wanted, losing in the sectional semifinal for the second straight year. But still quite a season.

“It’s been a great season; I love all of these girls it’s been the best season I’ve ever had,” Ezike said. “I’ve had so much fun. That’s why this is so disappointing because I expected to go so much farther.”

Hutchens, meanwhile, dwelled more on the journey than on the final destination.

“I know they’re heartbroken, but they should be very proud of this season,” Hutchens said. “Everybody has said ‘with your pregnancy are you excited to be done?’ No. I thoroughly enjoyed this season, regardless of wins and losses. The community was out to support us and these girls brought that love.”