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Lisle adjusts to full roster, beats Plano

For the first girls basketball game this season Lisle had its full roster available Thursday night.

It took a little while for the Lions to adjust, but once they took the lead, the Lions weren't about to give it up.

Lisle came from behind to defeat visiting Plano 47-43 in an Interstate Eight Conference game.

"We've had people that were missing, we've had people that had injuries, we've had people with illnesses, so tonight was the first time where we had our full 11-player roster," Lisle coach Nick Balaban said. "And we needed it tonight the way Plano came out and played us."

Plano jumped out to an early lead while Lisle missed its first eight shots, but the Lions pulled to within 11-10 in the second quarter. Plano responded with a 10-3 run as Mikayla Schmidt made a pair of 3-pointers.

Lisle answered with a 9-0 run of its own, but again Plano scored before the Lions could pull even.

"We got the looks we wanted and we hit them when we had to," Plano coach John Chernick said.

Lisle (6-5, 3-1) finally tied the game at 25 on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Natalie Takahashi midway through the third quarter, but Plano (2-7, 1-3) scored 5 straight points to keep the Lions at bay again.

Lisle finally broke through with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter when a Takahashi steal and layup gave the Lions a 38-37 lead. Three free throws and a Monifah Davis basket gave Lisle a 43-37 lead, its biggest of the game.

Free throws were a big part of the reason the Lions won. They made just 5 of 15 in the first half but improved to 14 of 18 in the second half.

"And we hit key ones down the stretch too," Balaban said.

The Reapers didn't get to the line in the second half, finishing 0 for 7 for the game.

"Give credit to Lisle and their kids, they were able to get contact and when they went to the free-throw line they hit them, and that was the difference," Chernick said, noting the free-throw disparity.

Takahashi scored a game-best 16 points, and senior Sarah Mogensen added 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals.

"It's a learning process for her," Balaban said of Takahashi. "When you're a freshman and you've had success at the junior high level, it's a whole different game, especially when you're playing varsity basketball as a freshman. But she's done some good things for us, and tonight she did some real good things for us. I thought her second-half effort really lifted us."

Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz

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