The MLK Girls Basketball Showcase at Trinity High School is unique in that all of the schools participating are led by African-American coaches.
“[Dr. King’s] legacy is the reason we are here today,” said Oak Park and River Forest High School girls basketball coach Renee Brantley. “Basketball is a game that I love; it’s allowed me to travel the world and come across so many people of different races and backgrounds.”
“It’s always a good event with good competition,” Fenwick coach Lenae Fergerson said. “I enjoy it.”
“It means everything,” said event founder and Trinity coach Kim Coleman. “What Dr. King represented was so much positivity. To bring teams from different areas of Illinois led by coaches of Black descent is a beautiful thing and we want to keep it rolling.”
OPRF, Fenwick, and Trinity competed in the third annual shootout, Jan. 20. Here is how they did:
Trinity 65, Plainfield South 48
In the shootout finale, Trinity (15-7) had a comfortable lead for much of the game. However, Plainfield South refused to quit, and the visiting Cougars pulled to 50-48 on a basket by Laniya Willis with 3:18 left in regulation.
But a basket from Chloe Santos and a three-pointer from Jaylani Hernandez sparked a game-ending 15-0 run for the Blazers, who notched a 65-48 victory.
“Plainfield definitely challenged us to be better, which is what we wanted,” Coleman said. “Armante [Dambrauskas] was huge tonight, and I think Grace [Treese] gave us a ton of energy. She was a true example of coming in and being a star in your role; she defended, rebounded, and made layups. Armante rebounded and shot the ball at a high level.”
Dambrauskas, who received Player of the Game honors, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Zaria Goins had 13 points and five rebounds; Santos had 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists; and Treese and Keyera Gamble each added six points for Trinity in the victory.
Trinity has home games against Providence Catholic (Jan. 23, 7 p.m.), Thornton Fractional North (Jan. 25, 1 p.m.), and Marist (Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m.), followed by a road game at OPRF, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m.
Westinghouse 51, OPRF 33
In the morning session, OPRF (3-19) started strongly against Westinghouse, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. But the Huskies could only score 16 more the remainder of the contest, and that, along with Westinghouse’s Amariyae Ervin pouring in 28 points, spelled a 51-33 defeat.
“We had some key turnovers and the ball didn’t bounce our way,” Brantley said. “That’s a good team that we played and [Ervin] is a great player. We’ll learn from this. I feel we’re trending in the right direction; we’ve made some adjustments on offense and our confidence has grown.”
Junior Gabriella Chesney led OPRF with 13 points and nine rebounds. On Jan. 18, senior Genevieve Simkowski’s career-best 23 points helped guide the Huskies to a 61-40 Senior Day victory over visiting Thornwood.
OPRF has road games at Proviso East (Jan. 22, 5 p.m.) and Glenbard West (Jan. 25, 6 p.m.), followed by home games against Lyons Township (Jan. 27, 7 p.m.) and Trinity (Jan. 29).
Aurora Central Catholic 62, Fenwick 53
Fenwick (11-13) led 18-16 after the first quarter, but Aurora Central Catholic took control in the second, outscoring the Friars 19-5. Fenwick made a couple of surges in the second half, but ultimately fell 62-53 to the Chargers.
“We’ve got to learn how to win,” Fergerson said. “Digging holes has been kind of our Achilles heel the whole year. These teams are too good to do that against.”
The Friars cut Aurora Central’s lead to 51-45 with about five minutes left, but Riley Cwinski (game-best 21 points) converted a three-point play and Sofia Corral followed with a basket, all within 40 seconds, to give the Chargers breathing room, and Fenwick could get no closer than eight afterwards.
Cammie Molis led Fenwick with 12 points. Keira Kapsch (seven rebounds) and Madison Zorovich each scored eight points, while Eleanor Gibson and Avani Williams (seven rebounds) each added seven points.
Fenwick hosts Montini, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m., then faces Kenwood at Whitney Young, Jan. 25 at 4:30 p.m. and travels to Wheaton St. Francis, Jan. 28.