Lyons comes back to nip Elk Grove

Down by 16 early with only one made basket in the first quarter, Lyons Township clawed back mightily to down Elk Grove 38-31 in Wheaton North’s holiday tournament Tuesday night.

Elk Grove’s Diamond Boyd had as many points as the entire opposition did going into halftime — 13 points — but it was a tale of two halves as the Grenadiers let slip a big lead.

The Lions held Elk Grove to 2 points in the third quarter to start their climb back but didn’t hold a lead in the game until the game’s closing moments.

“We were executing well in the first half but we got away from those things in the second half,” Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky said. “Credit to the Lions, though — they took the momentum there late in the game.”

Boyd finished with a game-high 19 points but the Lions’ halftime adjustments had her bottled up down the stretch.

“They are a very good team and we were in a slump starting out the game,” Lyons Township coach Katie Meyers said. “We stopped them when we shut down No. 22 (Boyd).”

Colleen Connors led the way in the late stages for the Lions with 10 second-half points, 14 for the game. Ashanti Davis added 7 critical points in the fourth quarter to get Lyons Township the lead.

“We put a zone defense on them to stop their height and penetration,” Myers said. “Late in the game it came down to execution and making the shots that weren’t falling early.”

“These girls crept back, one point at a time,” she added.

Grenadiers’ 6-foot-4 center Amber Lindfors had 10 rebounds and 5 blocks, but it wasn’t enough.

“It’s not always easy to play with a big lead,” Kirkorsky said. “We let it slip from our grasp tonight.”