Junior forward Aubrey Lamberti didn’t have an inkling about it, but senior guard Maggie Lewandowski did. And that led to a pretty special moment Tuesday night for Oswego East.
Playing in the final home game of her high school career, Lewandowski assisted on Lamberti’s basket with 2:55 left in the fourth quarter, giving the Wolves a 54-53 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
But it meant so much more.
“She didn’t actually know, which was pretty cool,” Lewandowski said of Lamberti. “I wanted to make sure to give her that shot. I know it’s a cool feeling.”
Lewandowski scored a game-high 26 points and went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, lifting Oswego East to a 65-57 Southwest Prairie Conference win over Yorkville.
But for Lamberti, the feeling was mutual. She added 17 points for the Wolves (17-10, 11-5), including scoring her 1,000th career point on that perfect pass from Lewandowski.
Desiree Merritt also scored 12 points for Oswego East, which came back from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter. For Lewandowski, the big rally was part of her vision entering the game.
“I wanted to go out with a win in my last home game,” Lewandowski said. “This was my last time playing on this court and it’s not going to hit me until next week or something.
“But I did come into it like a little bittersweet that this was the last one.”
Madi Spychalski, meanwhile, paced Yorkville (18-10, 11-5) with a career-high 25 points. Brooke Spychalski, Madi’s twin sister and an Illinois-Springfield recruit, added 13 points.
On the milestone night for Lamberti, Lewandowski helped turn the tide in the third quarter with her pressure defense. Down the stretch, she deftly controlled the ball and hit the sealing free throws.
“That’s what you want to do in your last home game, leave it all out there,” Oswego East coach Abe Carretto said. “The nice thing too is that every senior got on the court — everyone played.
“Then your senior captain has a fantastic game to close it. It’s a good last regular-season home game, especially for her.”
Yorkville had a size advantage with Madi Spychalski down low and used that advantage to start the third quarter with a 10-0 spurt in taking a 46-34 lead. Spychalski had two layups in that run.
“That was the thought — get it in to her,” Yorkville coach Kim Wensits said. “They had nobody that could stop her. We also have to get it past half court and get it to the guards that can get it to her.”
That’s where Lewandowski came in. Knowing there was a mismatch in the post, she ratcheted up the pressure on the perimeter and harassed Yorkville into 11 turnovers in the second half.
The Foxes only scored 11 points after their run to start the third quarter.
“I realized they were really trying to get it into the post and that was where a lot of their points were coming from,” Lewandowski said. “If I put pressure on the ballhandler, that would limit them.”
It was all part of the experience for Lewandowski on a special night. While she hopes there’s still a deep postseason run on the horizon, the memories of her final home game will linger.
“I’m pretty comfortable with the ball,” Lewandowski said. “It was kind of like, leave it all out there.”
Carretto was happy to see Lewandowski spark the comeback with her steady hand at the point.
“She just kind of went to the hoop at times,” Carretto said. “We talked about moving the ball more. That’s when we came back. We finally had more touches and we got some steals.
“Because of that, I think that opened up some things so Maggie was seeing a little bit more of the lane and took advantage.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
